Ocean Eyes
by Cockapoo
Summary: NicoA x OC. Percy Jackson has a sister, and what happens when his best friend Nico di Angelo falls for her? Or vice versa? Add in a little plot, a little prophecy, and some of the gods. Ignores The Lost Hero mostly, but compatible with The Last Olympian.
1. Chapter 1

**Ocean Eyes**

A/N: So this story takes place about two years after _The Last Olympian_. It completely ignores the events of _The Lost Hero_. Percy and Annabeth are still together, but this story is an OC/Nico. So I think I should give you guys a bit of background on Nico: He's been spending most of these two years in Italy, dropping by Camp Half-Blood once in a while. He's Percy's best friend, and he's grown up quite a bit ;) . Oh, and Percy is going to find out he has a sister, going along with Poseidon's hint in the last book. Please be patient with this chapter, I know it has a lot of Percy and Annabeth in it, but I will move on to our main pairing SOON!

Lots of love and I hope you like the story! Please review, I love feedback!

Chapter 1

Poseidon looked out over his brother's domain, his eyes creased with worry. Next to him, his brother appeared calm, but Poseidon knew he was simply hiding the tension beneath an icy façade.

"If Aphrodite is correct," Poseidon said, his voice gravelly from lack of usage in the last few days, "they may engineer, without being aware of it, one of the largest disasters we have seen since Paris and Helen."

His brother sighed. "I can try to keep my son away from her, but his sister already knows – it's impossible to hide anything from that girl. When will your daughter arrive at camp? Next month?"

"Tomorrow."

"Impossible!" When Poseidon remained silent, his brother flew into a rage – which the Sea God was used to. "How can you do this? You have doomed us all! Why couldn't you control yourself? Wasn't breaking our pact ONCE enough for you? And on top of that, you hide her existence from all of us, you only tell ME because it would spell disaster if you didn't, and you give me no time at all to prepare! And on top of that, we still need to figure out what is wrong with our children! All of them!"

Poseidon fixed his brother with eyes as stormy as a hurricane. "I had no choice. I did that which would keep her safe. And I have a hunch as to what is going on, but I hope I am wrong." And then he vanished in a breeze of salty air, leaving his brother clenching his fists, his brow furrowed.

"Did you hear that?" Annabeth Chase sat up and looked at her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, whose chest she had been leaning against moments before. They had been relaxing near the creek in the woods when they'd heard a shrill scream.

He got to his feet and pulled her up, noticing her hand was clenched around her dagger, and wondering where she'd drawn it from, since she wore no armor and had no sheath for it with her. He then decided that letting his thoughts go down that route was probably dangerous, and that it would be wiser to answer her question before she clobbered him with it. "We should probably go check that out. Hopefully Mrs. O'Leary hasn't brought another friend with her," he muttered, fighting back a smirk at the memory of when his hellhound had showed up at camp with a friend of hers, terrifying Annabeth and several of her cabinmates.

They jogged out to the volleyball court, still holding hands, to find the Aphrodite girls clustered despairingly around each other, while Clarisse and several of her siblings held a volleyball in their hands and rolled their eyes at each other.

"Clarisse, what's going on?" Annabeth called out, releasing Percy's hand and ignoring his pout. She decided against asking the Aphrodite cabin, because they tended to lecture her about straightening her hair and wearing better (and more) makeup before saying anything useful.

Percy hung back, looking around for some male company (after all, being a war hero in a crowd of pretty girls made him nervous, especially around his girlfriend). While Annabeth and Clarisse were making fun of Drew, one of Aphrodite's snobbiest daughters, for screaming because she found a split end in her hair, he spotted Grover playing his pipes to the strawberries, and headed over.

"Hey, G-man," Percy said, sitting next to the satyr. "We need to talk, dude."

Grover looked at him, pulling the pipes out of his mouth. "Listen, Perce. Before you get all bothered about it, look at it this way. I mean, being an only child can be a pain, right? I mean, so what if you spent most of your life without knowing her? She seems pretty nice, and things can only head up, right? Just get to know her before you judge. I mean –"

Percy, whose eyebrows had been traveling higher and higher up his forehead while Grover rambled, interrupted him. "Wait, what? I was going to tell you that tomorrow we're going to be playing basketball against Nico and Jake, and that if we get beat by sons of Hades and Apollo we are never gonna live it it down. What are YOU talking about? I don't have a sibling…do I?"

Grover paled. "Oh, Percy, you know what, I think I confused you with someone else. I mean, so many new additions to camp, I can't keep up with who's got siblings now, and…You know what, I was supposed to meet Juniper today, so I think I'll just…" And he scampered away, leaving behind a very confused Percy.

"Percy! Percy, wake up!" Annabeth shook her sleeping boyfriend desperately, marveling at his ability to sleep through every crisis they faced. Honestly, she thought, even Clovis had woken up for this – but her hero couldn't wake up (not that she ever referred to him that way out loud). "SEAWEED BRAIN! GET UP!"

He mumbled something incoherent and opened his green eyes, blinking in an adorably lost way at her. But, she told herself sharply, this was no time to lose herself in how cute he could be when he was sleepy.

"Percy, get up and get Riptide out now! There's an entire ARMY of monsters outside!"

He sprang out of bed, snatched his trusty pen up from the nightstand, uncapped it, and stared at her while the sword elongated in his grip. "Annabeth, you guys do remember that the borders of camp are protected, right? There's no chance in Hades that those freaks can get in."

Grabbing his hand, she pulled him out of the cabin, and he nearly froze in shock while she dragged him behind her. It was raining. Somehow it was raining, as though the bad weather had broken through the camp's enchantments.

"Percy, please hurry! They're after a demigod!" she screamed at him over the storm, which intensified even as they spoke.

But when they reached the top of the hill, they both stood still. The horde of monsters was _surrounding _the demigod they had been chasing, and although Camp Half-Blood fighters were trying to reach her, it seemed doubtful they would get there in time. Archers from Apollo's cabin were trying to simultaneously shoot the monsters nearest her and protect their fellow warriors, while Clarisse and Malcolm were leading flank attacks.

Being the super-powerful son of the Sea God, Percy did two things. First, he wished his friend Nico were there – having the son of the Lord of the Dead on your side in battle was invaluable. Secondly, he called on the sea to help him. As he stood on the hill, he summoned the waters of Long Island Sound to rise and engulf the monsters, while doing his best to form air bubbles around all his fellow demigods to protect them from the impact as well as the lack of air. And although he had gained considerably in muscle and strength than the first time he had explored the powers his parentage had given him, the effort to coordinate so many efforts crashed upon him without warning, and the moment his work was completed, he collapsed into Annabeth's arms, sinking into unconsciousness.

Percy woke in his cabin several hours later, to find Annabeth spooning ambrosia into his mouth – again.

"You idiot!" she shrieked, before hugging him so tightly that he was positive his head was going to fall off. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered into the crook of his neck, and he smiled, before realizing that Chiron was sitting opposite him, watching them.

"Annabeth, if you could get off of Percy for a few minutes," Chiron began, his eyes twinkling, "there are a couple things I need to tell you both."

Blushing, Annabeth kissed Percy's check and then settled next to him on the bed, her legs crossed.

"I'm sure you were both wondering why I insisted that the entire camp goes to help one demigod, especially when there were so many monsters out there. The reason is that she has quite an aura – and I believe she may be implicated in a prophecy we received recently. And don't ask, because I am NOT positive, and I'm not supposed to know about it anyway. Percy, I want to thank you for what you did. No one was killed last night except for monsters. A couple campers were injured, but they are all being treated and will all recover. The girl in question, however, is still unconscious. She has injuries that date back to before last night, but we cannot find out any more about her until she wakes. Not knowing her parentage is what's bothering me the most – we could heal her faster if we knew what she responds to. But she should heal as well, given time."

Percy leaned back against the pillows, relieved. Chiron stood and bent down so he could fit through the doorway. "Oh, and Percy," he said, "I wanted to tell you that your friend Nico will be arriving tomorrow. See if you two can keep at least some of the girls away from him for a while, will you? Have a nice day," he smiled, and left.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_She turned around, and saw a hellhound bearing down on her, its fangs bared. Dodging, she swung at it with the dagger in her hand, and it dissolved into dust...As she fled down an alley, another came lunging at her throat, and she…_

The unconscious girl suddenly sprang up, panting and sweating. Disoriented, she tried to penetrate the darkness, and realized she was lying in a bed in a large room, which was simply furnished and clearly rarely inhabited. Relaxing against the pillows, she turned her head and saw a glass filled with a golden liquid on the nightstand beside her. Distrustfully ignoring the drink, she got out of bed and staggered towards the doorway on unsteady legs. Opening it, she heard voices from down the hall, and carefully, step by step, made her way towards them.

"…Something isn't right here," she heard a deep voice, definitely a man's, say.

"I don't know who has the power to do this, or who it's benefiting. I mean, in a way, we don't mind it, but why wouldn't we be at least told about this? And Chiron, I'm worried about the implications. Is this more god-like, or similar to what Artemis' Hunters experience? Because it seems to be the kind of thing that..." The second voice was feminine and younger, but before she could finish her sentence, the injured girl walked into the room.

Annabeth jumped up when she saw the girl walk in, and helped her sit down on a couch. "How do you feel?" she asked. "Did you drink the nectar I left by your bed? What's your name?"

"My name is Lily," the girl answered, her voice somewhat hoarse. "And no, I didn't drink it. Why would you drink something without knowing what it is?"

Chuckling, Chiron poured out a glass of nectar from the pitcher next to his chair and handed it to her. She took it and drank it, gasping in surprise at the taste. It reminded her of the brownies she and her mother used to bake together – she could taste the melty chocolate chips they used to put in them.

Realizing that the room was somewhat cold, Annabeth tossed some more wood into the fire, and examined the new arrival in the light. The girl was slender, not very tall – her build was that of one of Aphrodite's children. Her features would certainly lend this supposition more weight – they were delicate, and she was quite pretty, even without any makeup and with exhaustion written all over her face. Her eyes were turquoise, sparkling in the light, and framed with thick black lashes. Her jeans were frayed and tatty, and there was dried blood on the shoulder of her t-shirt, which had XXI Forever written across it.

Lily, meanwhile, was examining both Annabeth and the being named Chiron. Clearly, he was a centaur – why she wasn't exactly shocked to realize this, she didn't know. He seemed kindly enough, but he intimidated her somewhat anyway. In Lily's opinion, Annabeth was someone you wanted to be friends with – her steely gray eyes showed determination and intelligence, and her arms were slender but muscular enough that she would be a proficient fighter. Her faded orange t-shirt said Camp Half-Blood on it.

"Camp Half-Blood," Lily murmured. "Strange name, huh?"

"It's what I am," Annabeth replied, "and so are you. Half-blood is the term for someone who is half human and half…"

"Half god," Lily breathed. She could feel the pieces of the puzzle coming together – she was intelligent enough to realize that the presence of a centaur indicated some kind of mythology – either Greek or Roman. She pinched herself, and winced.

"You aren't dreaming," Chiron asserted. "It's a common enough reaction, though. The real question is: Who is your godly parent? Do you have a mortal mother or father? Where are you from?"

"California." When Annabeth raised her eyebrows, Lily clarified. "I'm from California – the Bay Area, actually. My mother is … human. She's a fashion designer, but she's never really told me much about my father." She took a breath, and felt around in her pocket for a lip balm, which she applied to her chapped lips before continuing. "She told me he died before I was born. She said he was an extremely sweet, funny, caring and intelligent guy. She met him in New York – at a beach called Montauk, I think, a long time ago. He never married her, but she insists he loved her." At the mention of the beach, Annabeth let out a small gasp, but Lily ignored her. "I've never seen any pictures of him – I know she has one, but she never lets me see it. She wears it on a locket around her neck. The only thing she told me about him is that he has green eyes – like mine, but with more green than turquoise in them."

Annabeth and Chiron stared at each other. "No way," Annabeth said, standing up. "I know what you're thinking, Chiron, and it isn't possible. Lily, how old are you?"

"I'm sixteen – and what are you thinking?"

They both ignored her.

"It's possible, Annabeth," Chiron said. "She's two years younger than Percy, but it is possible that –"

Annabeth gasped. "He met them on the same beach! I mean, that's just…How will Sally feel?"

"She's an understanding woman, she won't feel bad about it. I wonder how Percy will react, though."

"Well, we aren't even sure! She hasn't even been…" Annabeth's voice trailed off as a bluish light filled the room.

Startled by the light, Lily glanced around and gasped. There was a trident above her head, with bluish light swirling around it and illuminating it.

Chiron bowed his head. "It is determined," he said quietly. "You are the daughter of Poseidon, the Sea God and the Earthshaker."

A/N: Okay, so I had no idea how to end this chapter, so I just…ended it. I know it's lame (sigh). Anyway, Nico's showing up next chapter (hopefully) and Percy meets his new sister. Please read/review, I really appreciate it!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hugs all around for everyone who subscribed! Thank you so much – it means a lot to me. Please take the time to review, I really would love feedback, comments, questions – anything!

Chapter 3

Lily followed Annabeth out into the rain a few minutes later, her mind reeling. After telling her that her father was one of the three most powerful gods out there, Chiron sent her to go find her brother (yeah, at like 3 in morning – would he be pleased to see her?) and told her that he would explain everything else. And Annabeth was clearly upset with her – but for what? Lily scoffed to herself. It wasn't as if she could control who her father was. Hopefully her brother wasn't as crazy as the blonde girl stomping along in front of her.

"Cabin Three," Annabeth snapped. "You'll be staying here. He's inside and probably asleep – try not to bother him _too _much, okay?" And she spun around on her heel and walked away.

Rolling her eyes, Lily pushed the door open and stepped inside, eager to get out of the cold rain. Inside the cabin it was much warmer – a saltwater fountain containing several gold coins gurgled away to itself (A/N: yes, I know Percy broke it, but I felt like having it repaired because it was awesome), the abalone walls had a glow of their own that illuminated the room, and several colorful horse-fish dangled from the ceiling. There was a figure rolled up in blankets on the farthest bunk bed from the doorway, and taking a deep breath, Lily walked towards it.

"Hey, wake up," she whispered, standing by the bunk. When he didn't respond, she sighed and crawled into the bunk bed next to his, wishing that she was back home.

Lily woke up the next morning when she felt someone shaking her shoulder – the shoulder that had been wounded and that wasn't fully healed. Yelping in pain, she jerked a way from the hand holding her and shot up from the bed, banging her head on the bunk above.

"Hey, did I hurt you? I'm sorry, are you okay? I'm Percy." The dark-haired boy opposite her stepped back, allowing her to get off the bed.

"Hi, I'm Lily, and it's okay, it'll get better soon." She bit her lip, wondering how to explain to him that she was his half-sister.

Percy ran a hand through his hair and raised an eyebrow at her. "So, what are you doing here? Did you need something?"

Oh, this was going to be awkward. "No, I…I…" Frustrated with herself, Lily blurted out, "I'm staying here."

He gave her an incredibly confused and incredulous look that clearly said, "WHAT?"

"I – I'm your…I'm your sister. My father is Poseidon too." She shrank away from him a little as she said it, waiting for his reaction. Even though he was still looking quite sleepy, she could sense the power and strength radiating from him, and if his reaction was anything like Annabeth's, she would need to duck and cover – fast.

He stood there for a few minutes, continuing to look as if she had clubbed him over the head with something hard. "Oh," he said. "How old are you again? I'm eighteen."

"Sixteen," she said, still poised to run while trying to hide her anxiety.

Percy smirked at her suddenly. "You know, you can stop acting like I'm going to attack you. We Sea-God types tend to be moody, yeah, but I'm not going to attack you. Having a sister would be kind of fun, actually. So, where are you from? Has anyone taught you how to spar or anything yet? Wait a minute…" Comprehension seemed to dawn on his face. "It was YOU we rescued from all those monsters yesterday, wasn't it? Were you hurt badly? How did you survive for so long?"

Closing her eyes in relief, Lily smiled at him. "I don't know how I survived – luck? And no, no one's really taught me anything so far. I've only met Annabeth…" she trailed off.

"Really? She's awesome, isn't she? She's my girlfriend – did she show you around camp and everything? She did for me."

"No, she doesn't like me very much, actually."

"Are you kidding? Well, it's okay. She's kind of picky and territorial about her friends – she didn't like me at all when we first met either. It took me years to get on her good side." Chuckling when Lily pulled a face, he continued, "She'll probably get to like you faster just because we're related. And she's not really that bad – just give her a chance, and she'll give you one. Why don't you get dressed, I'll show you around."

Lily blinked at him. "But I didn't bring anything with me, so how should I get dressed?"

He pointed to an orange bag that was sitting just inside the doorway. "Thank the Stoll brothers for that – Connor and Travis. They're from the Hermes cabin – they will steal anything they can get their hands on. But whenever some new arrives, they always put together a bag of clothes for them. The bags are magical, by the way, so the clothes and things that are in there will magically alter themselves to fit your size and style. Gift from Aphrodite last year. I'll see you in a bit – I'm going to hit the showers. They're right through this door, by the way," he said, indicating a door at the back of the cabin.

Opening the bag, Lily's mouth dropped open when she pulled out an old, tattered shirt that was clearly too large for her. But before she could even complain, it shimmered in her hands and turned into a white sundress. Smiling, she chose what she wanted, packed everything else into the cupboard next to the bed, and got dressed.

Walking around camp with Percy, Lily discovered that she really liked her new brother. He was funny, sweet, and pretty smart too. They interacted easily, and were just walking by the sparring area when they heard a girl scream.

"That's Drew's voice," Percy groaned. Seeing his sister's confusion, he elaborated. "She's the current head counselor for the Aphrodite cabin, and she's a pain. She starts screaming over every little thing – because she lost her favorite nail polish, because her hair has one curl in it…you get the idea. But she can charmspeak, so you'd better work on your will power, because she will eat away at it."

Lily rolled her eyes – Drew sounded like that type of girl she despised. But when the commotion grew, she grabbed Percy's arm and ran towards the noise to see what was going on. There was a huge crowd around a single tall, olive-skinned boy, who was trying to fight through all the people.

Percy started laughing. "My best friend's here," he chuckled. "I'll introduce you."

Lily stood on her toes, trying to get a better look. "Why's everyone mobbing him?"

"Well, all the girls think he's one of the hottest guys here – after me of course" – Lily snorted – "And he hasn't been here for four months. If you've noticed, that crowd is entirely female. The thing is, he's really picky when it comes to girls, and so he's never had a serious girlfriend before, but every girl thinks she'll have a chance with him. Here he comes."

Stepping back, Lily watched the two boys step towards each other and man-hug each other. While they were laughing over some private joke, she took the opportunity to glance over her brother's friend. The new boy was tall, around the same height as her brother – maybe 5'10" or so? She grinned to herself; she didn't like boys who were too tall because she was only 5'4", and she always felt tiny next to them. He was clearly muscular, as his black muscle shirt showed off, but he wasn't overly buff. Silky dark hair flopped over his forehead, and a dangerous looking sword was belting around his hips. He had a gorgeous smile, she thought, blushing, and the most beautiful dark eyes she had yet to see on a guy.

"…want to introduce you to someone," she heard Percy say, and instantly pretended to be watching the birds flying overhead.

"Hey, Lily," Percy said, seizing her arm and turning her to face them, "This is my friend, Nico di Angelo. He's the son of Hades, but he's a pretty nice guy most of the time, unless he's channeling his inner Grim Reaper or something."

Lily paled a little at the mention of Hades, but laughed at the way Percy described his friend's moods. Nico extended a hand towards her, and shook it when she placed her hand in his, noticing as she did so that his was larger, rougher, and stronger than hers.

He gave her a smile. "Nice to meet you," he said, squeezing her hand before dropping it. She blushed and lowered her eyes to the ground, hoping she wasn't being too obvious.

"You don't look much like Percy, though," Nico mused. "Think maybe Poseidon's daughters look better than his sons, or is Percy just abnormally ugly?" He laughed and ducked when Percy tried to punch him playfully. "Hey – basketball, we should get going. Lily, do you play?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm not into sports, really – and I'm a bit short for basketball. You'd probably just lose if I played on your team."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "You sure? I can improve your game if you'd like."

When Percy nudged her arm and nodded at her to accept, she sighed. "Okay, what time?"

"Three," Percy said. "And, uh…"

Laughing at her brother's indecision, Lily took matters out of his hands. "You two go catch up on whatever, I'm going to go find Clarisse – she sounds interesting. See you around!" And she walked away, her white dress swishing around her knees, blushing every time she remembered that sweet smile and those dark eyes.

A/N: So, did you like it? I was going to make Nico a playboy, but then I decided that I've had enough of playboy Nico and it's time to do something different. Do you think it's moving too fast or too slow? I am now going to beg shamelessly for reviews: PLEEEEASE REVIEW! I will love you forever and bake you brownies! (fanfic brownies, I guess….). And my updating schedule is weird because I'm still writing this and I like to post whenever I finish a chapter…so I guess you can tell when I'm being lazy…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Thunder rumbled on Mount Olympus, as Zeus paced back and forth before his throne, furious. The Olympian Council was gathered, and once again the room nearly shimmered with power.

"It's not a real prophecy, you know," Aphrodite said softly, trying to keep Zeus' anger from exploding in her direction. "It's just this…gut feeling I have. It could be nothing. It's quite possible he feels nothing for her, but I can't say anything for certain. Hades and his children are extremely adept at hiding their thoughts and emotions…they're hard to read, even for me."

Zeus snarled at her. "And how many times, Aphrodite, have ANY of your hunches been incorrect? Maybe once if we're lucky?" He whirled around suddenly to face Poseidon. "And I want to know just what else my brother has been hiding from me. More children? A plot to usurp my throne?"

"You are being foolish," Poseidon said quietly. "We have been over this before – I have no desire to take your throne. And I have only these two children – other than them, I honored our pact. And we don't yet have any proof that they pose any threat to the balance of power we have here. I fail to see what your concerns are."

"Yeah, we've got bigger fish to fry," Ares interrupted. "What about Kronos – if it is him? He can't be strong enough to attack again, but he's the only one who could work something like this. We need to prepare for –"

"Relax, bud," Apollo interposed. "We still don't know if Kronos can lift himself from the mud." He chuckled at his rhyming, while his sister rolled her eyes at him. "And besides, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't think the kids have even realized that they've stopped aging from the moment they stepped inside camp."

"Isn't it obvious?" Athena finally spoke, and all the gods quit their bickering and turned to face her. "As our children age, their bodies grow into the powers they have been given. They physically gain the strength to wield the abilities they inherit from us. If they are stopped from aging, they are stopped from maturing physically, and this will make many of them easier to defeat in battle. And at the same time, if we keep them from entering camp until they are eighteen or so, the monsters outside will tear them to pieces. It's actually quite clever, in a diabolical, twisted way. We have no method of protecting our children – they have to take care of themselves, and each other."

"And seeing how well we get along, there is very little chance of that happening," Artemis sighed. "I think I'll be sending my Hunters back to camp soon. It's very possible there is a military offensive headed our way – I just don't know who it'll be headed by. My girls can help train the campers – they are experts at immortal fighting."

"Hades," Zeus growled. "I would bet anything that he is behind this."

"Brother," Poseidon groaned, "Hades is not foolish enough to attempt anything like this. He is powerful, yes, but not stupid. And besides, his son –"

"You will keep your daughter away from his son," Zeus ordered. "I hope Aphrodite is wrong, but she very rarely is, and we don't need multiple catastrophes on our hands. Aphrodite, you said they have no feelings for each other, right?"

The goddess of love shook her head, her soft waves of her swaying with the motion. "No, I simply said that I cannot tell how the boy feels. The girl, however…"

"The girl what?" Poseidon demanded. "Finish your sentence!"

"She's a lost case, dude," Apollo laughed, examining his reflection in his Ray-Ban sunglasses. "Head over heels, but with a temper. This should be fun to watch." He started humming Love Story by Taylor Swift tunelessly while Zeus hurled a thunderbolt at a nearby fountain, smashing it into rubble.

That evening, at Mount Olympus, Chiron stood up to speak before the campers made offerings to the gods. "I have two quick announcements: Firstly, we have a new camper, as most of you noticed yesterday. Her name is Lily Shaw, she is from California, and she is a daughter of Poseidon." Murmurs broke out throughout the camp as teenagers craned their necks to get a good look at the girl sitting next to Percy Jackson, whose dark wavy hair was conveniently hiding her face. "Secondly, I would like to see all senior camp members at a meeting tonight at the Big House. Enjoy your dinner." As he sat down, the campers filed up to scrape offerings into the braziers for the gods.

Percy scooted into line next to Annabeth, leaving Lily to her conversation with Clarisse. "Hey," he breathed into her ear.

She smiled at him. "Hi, Percy."

"So, Lily seems to think you don't like her very much."

She fixed him with her story gray eyes. "Do you?"

"Yeah, she's fantastic," he replied. "But really, why didn't you like her?"

"Well, just because I thought you wouldn't like her. She doesn't seem bad, really, but a bit girly – more of an Aphrodite than a Big Three, in my opinion."

Her boyfriend squeezed her hand and laughed. "Nah, you should've seen her today. She made friends with Clarisse in like five minutes – just because Clarisse was impressed that she walked into the Ares cabin and managed to avoid all the land mines without even looking for them or having to dodge. I mean, even I nearly got hit by one of those once." He ducked when she tried to slap him, grabbing her hands. "And they both played basketball against me and Nico – Jake and Grover decided to watch – and they were winning till we realized that Clarisse was using her child of Ares thing to get projectiles to go where she wanted them to, and then Nico started shadow-traveling all over the court, and we won."

They reached the end of the line, scraped some food into the flames, and stood off to the side for a moment.

"Just please make an effort with her, will you?" Percy whispered. "She's actually really sweet. Give her a chance."

Annabeth nodded. "We should get back. I'll see you at the meeting tonight, alright? And bring Lily with you – she should be there even if she isn't a senior here." She kissed him quickly and took her seat at the Athena table, ignoring the catcalls from Apollo's children.

Lily picked at her food. She wasn't hungry – she was homesick. Memories of her mother, of her old friends, of her dog, and of her older brother (well, her half-brother now) crowded in on her, making her feel ill. Glancing around, she saw that no one was watching her – Percy and Annabeth were having a moment (she snickered to herself), and the other cabins were engrossed in other things. Slipping off her sandals, which would make a loud noise against the marble floor, she stole away from the eating area in bare feet and slipped between the trees in the woods.

Following the sound of running water, she found a creek making its way through the woods. She smiled at the naiads who waved at her from the water, and slid her feet into the cool water. She was picking at the grass next to her when she heard what sounded like a large dog snuffling around nearby. Standing up, Lily smoothed grass off her dress and moved quietly towards the sound, which stopped as she approached. Pushing aside some low tree branches, she found herself face-to-face with a fully grown timber wolf.

Terrified, she stepped backwards, and took another step as it followed her, baring its teeth. She opened her mouth to scream when a hand covered her mouth.

"Quiet," a voice hissed in her ear, holding her still with its other hand. "Don't startle him and I'll get him to back off."

The hands holding her didn't relax or move, but the wolf gradually moved away, until he lost interest completely and disappeared between the trees. The person holding her released her, and Lily turned around to find herself standing less than an inch away from Nico.

Before she had completely registered who she was talking to, she found herself giving voice to her shock. "There are WOLVES in here? Is that fricking normal?"

"Nah, the wolves are mine," he said. "Son of Hades – I attract carnivores. But there are monsters in here, yeah."

"How are you so blasé about that? Doesn't it bother you that we could be dead right now? Is no one else freaked out about this?"

Nico just raised his eyebrows. "Well, everyone else is used to it. I mean, even the Aphrodite kids don't panic about the woods and you're Poseidon's daughter, so I don't think you should –"

She scoffed at him. "Oh, okay. So just because my dad is some powerful dude holding a trident who controls 70% of the earth's surface doesn't mean that I have to be like him! Why does everyone here always look at me like I'm a loose cannon or I'm not what they expect? I'm just me! I've spent my whole life not even _knowing _who my father is, and all of a sudden I'm supposed to be just like him? I've never even MET him!" Blinking away the angry tears in her eyes, she stormed away.

Pushing her way between two tall trees, she leaned against one of them, succumbing to her tears after she was sure she had lost him.

"Hey," a quiet voice said. Wiping her eyes and turning, Lily shot up when she saw Nico looking at her with concern, standing right behind her. "You okay? Can I help?"

"Leave me alone," she snapped. "You've done enough."

Her anger mounted when he simply moved closer. Nico took her elbow in his hand, but as he tried to pull her closer, the rage she was feeling overcame the tingles that his touch produced, and suddenly a strong spray of seawater emerged from nowhere as she felt a powerful tug in her gut. The pain overpowered her, and she heard Nico yelling as the water crashed down on him. Overwhelmed, she gave in to the darkness eating at the corners of her vision.

**A/N: See, an update! Sorry if I'm boring anyone, I tend to ramble but I'll try not to! Thank you very very very much to everyone who subscribed and favorited my story or me as an author, as well as everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! And I know I should've gotten to this before, but a special thank you to WriterJosi, who is my first reviewer and subscriber for my first ever story! I love you all and see you soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Before I let all of you read this chapter, I wanted to let you know that although I declared that this fic will ignore The Lost Hero, I decided that Leo was too funny to ignore, and I might bring Piper in later. I'm sorry for all you fans of Jason, but I don't have plans for him yet – if you would really like for me to include him, please let me know and I'll stick him in. Thanks and see you at the end! (of the chapter)**

Chapter 5

Blinking as her vision swam before her eyes, Lily focused on the room she was in and realized that she was back in Cabin Three. Annabeth was sitting with her, holding a bowl and spoon in her hand.

"How do you feel?" Athena's daughter asked, putting her hand against Lily's forehead.

"Water," Lily croaked. She gulped it down when Annabeth handed her a glass, and, finding it beyond her power to speak, raised her eyebrows and hoped her eyes conveyed what she wanted them to.

"Well, you and Nico both survived, but it was close." Annabeth leaned against the bedpost and stretched her legs out, so that her feet were near Lily's. "You lost your temper – it's nothing new, I mean, your father being the god of earthquakes and hurricanes and whatnot. But since you'd never experienced your power before, you got a little…carried away. It was worse for Nico than you – he grabbed you and shadow-traveled you both to this cabin, but the effort drained him pretty badly, considering that he'd been pummeled by the water and then nearly drowned. He's still unconscious, as far as I know. Percy's sitting with him."

Lily closed her eyes and slumped backwards. She hadn't meant to hurt him – she'd just totally lost control when he'd implied that she wasn't what he expected her to be – what he wanted her to be.

"He was still conscious when Percy found you two just inside the doorway when he came out of the shower," Annabeth continued. "Lily, don't feel too bad, but he was bleeding pretty badly. He'd cut his shoulder on something. He told Seaweed Brain to tell you that it's not your fault and not to blame yourself, and then he passed out. And, about the meeting last night that you missed: Basically, there's some sort of spell over camp that you stop aging the moment you cross its borders for the first time, and it was implemented this summer. No one knows who did it, but the gods and Chiron think it's Kronos – they're just not telling us." She rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly, and fed Lily another spoonful of ambrosia when she noticed the younger girl's eyes closing. "They think we'll be attacked soon," she murmured.

"Train…me…didn't want…to…hurt..." Lily breathed, falling asleep.

Annabeth smiled and stood up. She put the unfinished ambrosia on the table and stepped out of the cabin. She banged on the red-painted door of the Ares cabin and yelled at Clarisse to go sit with the sleeping girl in Cabin Three, ignoring the protests of all the sleeping Ares campers, and then jogged down to Cabin Thirteen, where Percy and Chiron had taken Nico.

The obsidian walls were illuminated by the green Greek flames burning outside the cabin. They made the skull above the door sneer down at her, and she stepped quickly inside the cabin, shuddering.

"Annabeth!" Percy called her over, pulling her down into the chair next to him. He, Will Solace, and Leo Valdez from the Hephaestus cabin were all sitting around the fire. She decided to worry about why Leo was there later – all she knew about him was that it was rumored he may be replacing Jake Mason as the counselor for Hephaestus. Nico was lying on his bed, shirtless and terribly pale. There was a bandage on his shoulder, but she could see blood seeping slowly through it.

"He looks awful, doesn't he?" Leo ran his hand through his unruly hair. "Man, and all that time I thought that crazy Tía did bad things to me – jalapeno juice is bad for the eyes, people. Really bad. But, I mean, he looks like he's been –" He stopped when Annabeth shot him one of those shut-up-or-I-will-spear-you-with-my-boyfriend's-sword-right-now looks.

"Will he wake up soon?" she asked Will, clutching her boyfriend's hand tightly.

"We need him to," Will sighed. "They're going to start planning the camp's defenses tomorrow – I think we're in a lot more trouble than they're telling us. We need him for that. I just don't know how badly the seawater she dumped on him affected him – all the Big Three types are more sensitive to each other's domains than we normal demigods are. I mean, look at Percy – there's a reason he rarely flew in planes, and why he was so terrified in the Underworld. It's because you're in the power of a god who is not necessarily friendly towards your father. It's scary, honestly. If he doesn't wake up in an hour, we're going to have to find a better healer than me."

They sat in silence for a few minutes – well, silence except for Leo mumbling to himself in Spanish and building a small tower out of several sharp daggers that Nico had left on a table. They all turned their heads when the door opened, and Annabeth and Percy stood up immediately when a small figure stumbled through the entrance.

"Lily!" Annabeth dragged the exhausted girl towards the group and deposited her on the foot of Nico's bed (because there were no chairs left). "WHAT are you doing here? How did you get past Clarisse?"

"She's in the bathroom," Lily answered, her voice soft from tiredness. "How is he?" Her face drained of whatever color it had left when she saw his limp form.

"Okay," Will replied, smiling encouragingly. "I think it's more shock than anything – judging by the scars all over him, he's had a lot worse than that cut on his shoulder. In fact –"

They closed their mouths as Nico sat up fluidly, going from unconscious to fully alert in less than ten seconds. "Hey guys," he muttered, reaching beneath the pillow and pulling the necklace he'd stored under it over his head. He looked up and saw Lily sitting near his feet, blushing furiously and trying not to stare at his muscled and bare chest.

"Percy, where's my shirt?"

Leo cracked up. "Dude, you nearly _died_, and the first thing you want is your shirt? What are you smokin', man? You're weirder than my nutty aunt, dude!"

Annabeth winced, expecting Hades' son to attack Leo, but instead Nico just chuckled and snatched the shirt Percy threw him from the air.

"I'm sorry." Lily's voice was so quiet that they almost didn't hear her. "I didn't mean to hurt you or anything, I just lost control and –"

"It's cool," he interrupted. Then he grinned at her. "You forget whose son I am – you can't kill me so easily." His dark eyes found her sea-green ones, and they stared at each other. He was captivated with the swirling colors in her eyes and the blush that was creeping up her neck, and saw her fighting to break the eye contact with him.

"Lily," Will interposed, "You and Percy should get back to your cabins. Apparently we overestimated the danger you both were in. See you all at five tomorrow morning." Snickering at Leo when Hephaestus' son groaned at the mention of that ungodly hour, Will walked out of the cabin.

Annabeth and Lily left next, since both of them were yawning widely enough to swallow a minotaur.

"So, Nico, how're you really feeling?" Percy asked, exchanging smirks with Leo as Nico stood and stretched.

"Okay," he muttered. "Can you help me out with the whole her trying to drown me thing? Like, can you put some sort of water-repelling shield on me or something?"

"Dude, he's the SON of Poseidon, not the freaking god himself," Leo laughed, grabbing a bag of chips from Nico's stash of food. "Besides, what did you do to her to make her try to kill you anyway?"

"Like she did it on purpose," Percy snapped. "I've only known her for like a day, but I know she wouldn't hurt a fly. She probably lost control, that's all."

Nico mussed his hair with one hand, giving Percy an embarrassed look. "Honestly, I sort of…told her that Aphrodite's kids are braver than she is," he mumbled.

Leo crowed at the ceiling with amusement. "That's it, Nico, you better call up your old man and start making agreements for when you die, 'cause she's probably out to get you."

"Do you really think that though?" Percy questioned his friend. He understood how hurt Lily must have been – it was pretty obvious to him that she had a crush on Nico.

"Well, not really, but I don't know her very well, do I? And she looks like the type to be terrified by anything – she looks like a daughter of Aphrodite, and I kind of slipped up. But then again, she got really upset when I said that, so who knows."

"Yeah, she is actually mucho beautiful, dude," Leo piped up. "Think she likes Hephaestus men, Percy? Smart guys, nice sense of humor, good with our hands…" He waggled his eyebrows after the last comment, and Percy punched in the arm.

"No dirty jokes about my sister! And we'd better get going. Later, man," he said, clapping Nico on the back and hauling Leo out the door with him. He grinned to himself the moment he was outside – he had seen Nico's eyes darken when Leo mentioned dating Lily. Oh, he couldn't wait to tell her…or maybe he'd better not. He'd ask Annabeth first.

(The next morning….)

Chiron sat at the head of the table and eyed all the hopelessly sleepy faces around him. Clovis was snoring on the floor, having rolled right out of his chair. The Valdez boy seemed to have "borrowed" one of Nico's Stygian iron daggers (clearly Leo didn't know how dangerous those were to anyone not of the Underworld) and was sawing absently at the table with it while his eyelids drooped. Sitting with a whirring laptop balanced on her knees and a sleeping Percy's head on her shoulder, Annabeth was already drawing up battle plans and old strategies. Clarisse, Drew, Katie, Butch, Pollux, Lou Ellen, the Stoll brothers, Lily, Will and more were there, but someone was missing…Chiron sighed when he figured it out. Doubtless Nico had slept in, knowing that most of the campers were too scared of him to wake him in the early morning, and that those who weren't afraid of him were too busy sleeping to do anything about it.

Oh, well. Best to start without him then, but they would have to get him to review all their plans later on. There really was no one like the son of Hades to help plan out how to kill monsters, Chiron reflected. He nodded at Clarisse.

She slammed her bronze knife on the table loudly. "Alright, cupcakes! Wake up!" Glowering at Lily when the dark-haired girl giggled, she snarled, "NOW! We have a lot to do. Annabeth, push Percy onto the floor, will you? Valdez, quit killing the table." Flicking her wrist, she spread a map of Camp Half-Blood across the large table. "We need to spread ourselves out across camp, so that we're in areas where our power is strongest and we can command the camp newbies. Got it? I want everyone to make a quick list, in order, of the three places they think they could work best. And we'll be in pairs so no one gets overwhelmed – try to choose someone who complements your fighting style and abilities, okay? Don't make me do all the work for you."

Chiron leaned back and watched all the teenagers lean forward to examine the map more closely. Clarisse was good for waking up lazy kids, he reflected. There's nothing like an angry daughter of Ares to get things going…and it looked as if she was starting a fight already.

"I WILL take the area around the creek," Annabeth hissed. "Percy and I can work together there – we've done it before. And you don't even know how to wield a sword!"

"You mean in capture the flag when you tried to kill me?" Percy asked, but very quietly. She ignored him.

"No, I will handle that area," Drew said, switching on her charmspeak. "I'm just as good at using a dagger as you are, and Percy and I will work wonderfully together, won't we, Percy?" She gave him her sweetest smile, and both he and Annabeth seemed struggling to get themselves back under control.

"Well, you know what," Lily interrupted, glaring daggers at Drew, "I'll take the creek. Percy and Annabeth will keep the Canoe Lake locked down, okay? And, Drew, maybe you should take the Arts and Crafts cabin. I'm sure that will be a major fighting area, right, Clarisse?"

She smirked as the Ares girl nodded and smirked right back at her. Annabeth, who had shaken off the charmspeak, wrote the names in the correct places on the map in Sharpie.

"Hey, Lily," Leo called from across the table. "You need a partner, right? I can help you out there. Fire and water – we'll make a pretty good team. Write my name next to yours, will you?"

Glancing around quickly, Lily realized that Nico still hadn't entered. Sighing inwardly, she added Leo's name underneath hers in small cursive Sharpie letters.

"Hey, where's Nico?" Percy yelled over the sound of several campers arguing over fighting stations.

"Go get him, punk," Clarisse shouted back, trying to stop Pollux from throwing a bottle of Gatorade at Connor. Percy was trying to untangle himself from a myriad of wires Annabeth had connected to her laptop when the door opened quietly and Nico slipped into the room.

Raising his eyebrows at the commotion, he slid fluidly into the seat next to Percy, and scanned the map quickly. Without consulted anyone, he crossed out and replaced a few names, putting Katie Gardiner in the strawberry fields and Clovis in the arena. When he saw Leo's name next to Lily's, he began to chew on the end of his pen. He turned to Percy, who was smirking at him.

"Do you really think they should be together?"

**A/N: So, this was a little long, I just ended it here because I could probably have gone on for pages otherwise. Thank you again to everyone who favorited and reviewed and subscribed – I know I say this every time but I can't help it. Thanks everyone, R&R! See you soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: By the way, I'm probably messing Nico's age up in this chapter, so please don't panic. I know he was only like twelve in The Lost Hero, but I think he should be older. So he will be. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

Before Percy could reply, Clarisse stomped over. "Finally decided to grace us with your presence, di Angelo?" she groused. "What did you people do? Move over, punk." She shoved Percy out of his seat and sat down.

"Valdez!" she barked suddenly. "Why are you at the creek? Don't you know there'll be loads of fighting there? You get tired after one bolt of fire."

"But I'll be good there!" Leo protested. "I mean, she can control water and I do fire – we'll be one heck of a team."

But Hephaestus' children had never impressed Clarisse much anyway (I mean, come on! Ares kids can make their own weapons too, you know!), and when she was annoyed with them, she was really annoyed. "You are going to help Katie in the strawberry fields. Every time the camp is attacked, they come in through the same old places – and the woods are one of them. Di Angelo will take the creek along with Lily. Those monsters won't know what's hit them."

She pulled out a fat red marker from her pocket, scribbled out Leo's name, and scrawled Nico's in its place. Standing, she turned to Annabeth and said, "Annabeth, you and Percy look okay, but try not to take any detours at the bottom of the lake, okay? Every year, we have to rescue you two from down there when you forget there's a world up here." And she walked away, leaving Nico to laugh at the blushing couple next to him and enjoy the crushed look on Leo Valdez's face.

At ten, they decided to take a break, and Annabeth and Clarisse took Lily to the arena to get her outfitted with some weapons.

"So first, I'm just going to toss you a couple swords and see how they fit your hand, okay?" Annabeth began giving Lily one weapon after another to hold, until five minutes later Clarisse lost her temper.

"That's it, Wise Girl," she snapped. "Lily, grab this." Shoving a random weapon into Lily's hand, Clarisse assumed a fighting stance. "En garde!"

Lily stared at the hefty girl in front of her. Surely Clarisse wasn't going to…Seconds later, Lily's hand brought the sword up automatically as Clarisse swung at her face with a huge double-handed sword. She realized that she had a fighting skill she didn't even know she possessed, and she blocked one strike after another and then assumed the offensive, without having any idea what she was doing. Feinting to one side, Lily twisted her wrist and disarmed Clarisse, swinging the point of her sword up to the other girl's throat.

Hearing applause, Lily spun around to see Percy and Nico walking towards them.

"Not bad, little sister," Percy grinned, ruffling her hair and chuckling when she slapped his hand. "Nice to see that you're not totally helpless." This time he ducked as she attempted to clobber him with the hilt of her weapon.

As Percy turned to Annabeth, Lily felt her sword sliding out of her hand. Turning, she saw Nico taking it from her to examine it closely.

"Interesting," he commented. "The blade is somewhat more slender than Percy's, but the hilt is a hand-and-a-half." He swung it through the air suddenly, flourishing and slicing. "Aerodynamic." Tossing it around, he frowned suddenly. "You should do something about the sharpness, though. It's too dull to actually do any damage. I can show you how to fix that and protect it magically, if you want."

While he was talking, Lily was more interested in watching him than listening to a word he was saying. The sunlight glinted off his smooth hair, and she found herself entranced by the way it shimmered when he moved. He tested the sword out with a grace that she was jealous of – his every moment was catlike and determined. And those eyes…those beautiful dark eyes she could get lost in forever…were looking at her….wait what?

"Huh?" She blinked up at him.

He stared down at her, caught by the way those turquoise eyes sparkled in the sun. "Oh, uh, you sword – yeah, it's a little blunt. I was saying that I could show you how to fix the point and protect it magically if you'd like."

She smiled at him, and he felt suddenly dizzy. "That would be great," she whispered, fixing those large, innocent eyes on him.

He stepped closer to her, and then closer – he could smell the vanilla from her hair, and discovered that it was his new favorite scent. Her eyes were closing, when he heard someone yelling his name.

"Nico!" Oh, great, it was Percy. "Nico! Get over here, the break's over! And bring my sister with you, will you?"

Looking suddenly self-conscious, she retreated from him. "We should go back," she said, and then ran towards the Big House, leaving him behind her, watching as her hair rippled in the breeze. Sensing a weight in his hand, he looked down to see that she had left her sword with him. He smiled as he ran a finger over the slender weapon. He'd give it to her later.

In the Underworld, Poseidon and Hades were walking through Persephone's gardens together, talking.

"You know, Zeus thinks you're behind the army marching towards Camp Half-Blood," Poseidon muttered. "He doesn't want any of us to tell you about Aphrodite's 'prophecy' either."

Hades barked a laugh. "Well, you told me a while ago, so it doesn't really matter **(A/N: If you didn't get it, at the beginning of Chapter 1, Poseidon was talking to Hades, not Zeus. Yup.)**, and anyway I don't think there's much Zeus can do about anything – not that army of monsters which our children don't even know about, and not the 'budding relationship' Aphrodite keeps blathering about either."

"Is it really a good idea to just allow our children to…you know…"

Hades scoffed. "You really think I want my son fooling around with your daughter? I'd rather he found one of those stupid Aphrodite girls, but I don't have much of a choice. He's like me," Hades smiled proudly, "He doesn't like to be told what to do and he does what he wants. He'll figure out what to do. And anyway, he can take care of himself."

"It's just…well, he's the most dangerous demigod out there right now, and I don't know if it's good for her. She's just sixteen, Hades!"

"And my son is seventeen! I don't want him tangled up with EITHER of your children, but clearly that didn't work out, did it?"

"I'm just worried about her," Poseidon sighed. "You would be too, if you had a daughter."

"I had one, once," Hades growled, staring off into the distance. "I lost her – you had better keep a good watch on yours. If Zeus loses his temper and tries to kill her, he will –"

"He will pay for it," Poseidon snarled.

"We'd better get going," Hades said, ignoring his brother's sudden rage. "We need to check that pit in Tartarus out sometime. Come on."

That night, Lily showered and and changed into black lounge pants and a tank top that was only slightly too short for her. She was so tired her legs were shaking, so she collapsed onto her bunk and began to pile her hair up in a somewhat loose and messy updo.

"You're changed already?" Percy asked as he entered the cabin. "It's barely eight."

"Mhm…I'm tired. Oh, and you have some lip gloss on your cheek," she giggled, pointing to the shimmering but faint pink mark on his face. "I didn't know Annabeth wore lip gloss."

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, wiping it off gingerly with his finger. "Hey, Nico wanted me to tell you that you left your sword with him. He said he'd give it back to you tomorrow if you were in bed or something."

Her eyes widened as she realized he was right. "Oh – I didn't even register that!"

Percy stared at her. "So, aren't you going?"

"Where?"

"To get it from him," he said slowly, as if explaining something to a whiny toddler. "I think he wanted to show you how to protect the point or something, too, so you should just go now. He might forget about that tomorrow, and he's the expert on weapons, not me. Cabin Thirteen," he said, grabbing her by the elbow, nearly lifting her off the bed, and propelling her to the door. "That one. And don't worry, everyone's either at the campfire or in bed like you, and people wear weirder pajamas here, so you won't get laughed at for how you're dressed. Although I do think the tank top is a little short…" He grinned at her and shoved her out the door, closing it behind her.

Shivering, Lily felt goose bumps rise on her arms and shoulders. Gods, it really was cold. Idiot, she thought, he gets to stay in a nice warm cabin and he sends me out here. She crossed quickly down to Cabin Thirteen, and knocked on the door. When no response came, she knocked again, louder this time. She heard Nico yelling something, and then the door opened.

She stepped back in surprise, stifling a gasp. He'd evidently just come out of the shower – his hair halfway dried but drops of water still clung to some strands or trickled down his face. He was wearing black jeans and a black button-down shirt that he hadn't buttoned up yet. There was a towel in his left hand.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I'll just…" She turned to go, and felt a warm hand grab her and pull her inside.

"It's okay," he said, his cheeks slightly red. "I'll just…finish in a second, okay?" He quickly rubbed his hair dry and buttoned up his shirt. "You came for your sword, right?"

"Yeah, and, um, Percy said something about the point?"

"Got it." He walked over to the table beside his bunk and bent slightly to pick something off of it, but for once, she wasn't paying attention. The inside of the cabin was surprisingly different from the outside, and this was the first time she was really getting a good look at it. There were several bunk beds inside, but the area around the fireplace was a sort of miniature sitting room. There was a dark red rug that appeared so soft that she knelt down to touch it, and immediately fell in love with it. Plushy chairs, either dark green or dark red, stood around the rug. There were torches inside as well, but they burned regular flames instead of the green Greek fire outside. There were pictures on the mantelpiece above the fire – pictures of a younger, smiling Nico with an older girl who resembled him, pictures of Nico with Percy and other campers, and even a picture of Nico and his father. She didn't dare to ask how he got it.

He cleared his throat, and she turned around, embarrassed. "It's okay," he shrugged. "People check those out all the time. But here, pay attention now." He sat down on the rug, and patted the spot next to him, indicating that she should join him. "So every demigod has power inside them – raw energy, okay? The thing is, being children of the Big Three, we have more than the others – enough that we can channel it differently. It'll be tiring at first if you try using it in big quantities, and you have to have lots of practice to be proficient with it, but for something as simple as maintaining a sword it's easy. You just have to sort of tap the power reserve within you, and then summon one spark, like this." Placing his fingertip against the tip of her sword, he allowed a black spark to emerge from his finger and be absorbed instantly by the Celestial bronze.

"Wow," she whispered. The sword had changed – it became shinier, smoother, and sharper. It was more beautiful, but deadlier as well.

"You won't have to do it again," he said, "but it's a good skill to have. And yeah, that's it."

But now that she was here, Lily didn't want to leave so soon. "What do you fight with?"

He stood again. "I'll show you." He moved towards his nightstand again, and returned with a three foot long sword and a knife. "I made them from Stygian iron," he explained. "Don't touch the blade – it will absorb your life essence. It does more than kill – it literally imbibes the being it strikes. Only those of the Underworld can handle it safely, so be careful."

"Le has something like this," Lily ventured. "He was playing with it at the meeting today."

Nico swore quite colorfully, and apologized when Lily raised her eyebrows. He stood abruptly. "Hey, I have to go and get it from him before he kills himself," he said. "Sorry, but I'll see you around, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned and practically ran from the cabin, leaving her sitting on the ground.

She sighed, and made her way back to her cabin with her sword, leaving his on the floor. When she entered, Percy and Annabeth were sitting together on the couch, leaning against each other and talking seriously about something.

"…it's dangerous," Annabeth was saying. "I don't know why the gods haven't said anything, but Nico said the force is huge, almost as big as what we fought last time, except he didn't see any Titans there. But he got pretty close to them, and he said he didn't detect any sort of leader or order among them. Apparently it's just a horde."

"We'll be okay, Wise Girl," Percy sighed, staring at the firelight reflecting off the abalone walls. "We've been through worse, and we have each other."

"And Lily."

"Yeah, and Nico."

"Well, we had him before too."

"You know what I mean."

"You know I do."

When they began to lean even closer, Lily cleared her throat and walked up to them, enjoying their obvious discomfort as they sprang apart.

"So, are we doomed?" she asked, curling up on the loveseat opposite the couch.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," a voice said from behind her.

"G-Man!" Percy yelled from the couch, unable to get up because Annabeth had stretched out, laying her head in his lap.

"'Sup, guys," Grover grinned, sitting on the floor in front of the fire and pulling out a Coke can to chew. "Found two daughters of Tyche this week, and a son of Nike. We may have a chance, people!" **(A/N: Tyche is the goddess of luck; Nike is the goddess of victory)**

"Hey, we got a son of Hades here too, he's got to count for something!" The door opened, and Nico strode in, accompanied by a blast of freezing air. "That idiot Valdez pocketed one of my knives and nearly killed himself," he announced. "He'd barely touched the blade when I found him, and he was lying half-dead on the floor. Then I got yelled at by Chiron for letting him near the thing when it was his fault anyway. All those Hephaestus people were freaked out as hell."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Well, I nearly died because of those stupid weapons too, remember? Why can't you just use a normal Hephaestus-made sword like everyone else?"

Nico grinned evilly, and Lily had the urge to smile with him and shudder at the same time. "Let's just say that Stygian iron channels my power better, and making your own weapons allows them to imbibe a part of you." When Annabeth opened her mouth, he held up a hand and she fell silent, making Grover raise his eyebrows in surprise and exchange looks with Lily. "I'm assuming Annabeth filled you all in? I'm here because I wanted to talk to you guys about why Olympus isn't telling us a goddamn thing."

"There's a reason for sure," Grover said through a mouthful of can. "All the gods must have agreed it's better not to tell us something."

"No, they haven't," Nico sighed. "My dad told me." He fought the urge to laugh when he saw the dumbfounded faces around the room. "That's how I knew to go scouting. And I mean – that army is HUGE. There's like practically all sorts of things coming our way, but it's not an army, it's a mob. There's no leader, like Kronos led them last time. I don't get it, really."

Lily unfolded her legs, stretching them out. "How did you even get close enough to tell? Didn't they smell or see you?"

"He's the son of Hades, Lily," Percy pointed out. "He can travel in shadows, hide in them, so on so forth. He does lots of scary things." He chuckled.

Nico sighed. "We're going to have to make sure everyone is up to fighting par tomorrow. That army will be here in two days max, and we'll need to be ready. Especially that useless Aphrodite cabin."

**A/N: Yay another update! You know the routine: thank you, brownies for everyone, please review! 3**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:****Please****read****note****at****bottom!**

Chapter 7

Damn it. Some rather painful cramps had woken Lily at an incredibly ungodly hour – nearly four in the morning. She'd gotten her period the previous night, and she had always gotten the most awful cramps because of it. And today, of all days, those idiot boys had decided to train the camp in "fighting." I don't think I can even hold a sword up today, she grumbled to herself. Hopefully Annabeth or Clarisse would understand.

They didn't, as it turned out. Neither of them suffered particularly painful cramps during their weeks – in fact, Clarisse didn't get cramps at all (none of Ares' daughters did, since they needed to be combat-ready at any given moment. Lucky girls.) After two hours of sparring and getting yelled at by Annabeth for not holding her sword right and Drew for not combing her hair right, Lily was developing a massive headache and felt herself losing her temper.

Soon after, she and one of Apollo's daughters, a fifteen-year-old girl named Jessie, were practicing archery when Jessie suggested they try to hit a target over by the forge, which wasn't particularly close to the arena.

"Uh, you know what," Lily said, eyeing the hammer lying on the ground that they were aiming at, "You go first. You're better at this than I am anyway."

Jessie laughed – she really was the better archer, and with a father like hers, it wasn't surprising. "Sure. Watch and learn, amateur." She winked at her new friend and pulled an arrow out from her quiver.

As Lily returned her gaze to the target, her face suddenly drained of the little color it had. She had seen a familiar head of silky dark hair behind the wall of the cabin, and pressed up against him was…Drew. They were kissing, that much was obvious, and the Aphrodite girl's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Your turn," Jessie announced, having nailed the target perfectly in the center. If it was a monster, she was sure it would have died from the single shot she had released. "Lily?"

"Oh, sorry," Lily mumbled, her mind still reeling. She absently fitted an arrow to the bowstring, and released it.

"ZEUS!" Jessie shrieked, diving to one side as the arrow hurtled towards her head. "Lily, PLEASE try to aim! I'm too young to die!"

Lily just stared at her in shock. "I didn't mean to – are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm okay, my dad left me some pretty awesome reflexes, you know?" Jessie grinned. "Hey, are you feeling okay? You're pale, and you didn't get much sleep, obviously…Oh, is it that time of month?" Giggling at the other girl's surprise, Jessie lowered her voice. "Daughter of the God of Medicine right here, baby. It's okay, I get awful cramps too – and you look like you're in pain every couple minutes. Just go take a nap – I'll cover for you."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked, more than grateful that she had been paired up with Jessie. She really liked the girl, who was outspoken but ultimately sweet-tempered.

"Positive. Get going before you pass out and I have to waste energy healing you. Shoo!"

Smiling for the first time that day, albeit briefly, Lily practically ran towards the cabin, trying to erase the image of Nico and Drew kissing from her mind. She almost made it, too, when she heard someone calling her name.

"Lily, can I talk to you?" Percy asked, jogging up to her.

"What?"

He raised his eyebrows. She was normally never this brusque. "Well, you weren't fighting like you normally do, you haven't combed your hair, and you look like a raccoon. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." So she looked like a raccoon, did she? Well, let's give _him_menstrual cramps and see how much sleep _he_gets, she thought.

"I'm serious," he said, grabbing her shoulder when she tried to turn into the cabin. "You can tell me what's bothering you, if you're worried about if your and Nico's fighting styles are compatible or something then –"

"It has nothing to do with him!" she hissed, jerking her shoulder from his grasp. The pain of seeing him with another girl, even though he had never directly expressed an interest in her, flooded her frame again. "But you know what, I don't even know why Clarisse put me with him! Everyone here likes him because he's hot and he's polite and he acts nice, but that can't be what he's really like! He acts like he's oh so perfect, but I don't think he is. I mean, he has every girl here practically chasing after him, and I bet he just loves the attention! And do you even know if you can trust him at all? Look at his father! I bet he's just like him – creepy and violent and untrustworthy." She blinked her eyes rapidly – she was NOT going to cry over someone as worthless as Nico di Angelo. Never again. "And I have a headache, and I'm going to take a nap. See you."

She slammed the cabin door behind her and collapsed onto her bed, falling asleep almost immediately as physical exhaustion overpowered her racing mind and heart.

Percy stood outside the cabin for a moment more and then turned and returned to the arena. Neither he nor his sister had noticed the Italian boy who blended in perfectly to the shadows, his eyes betraying his anger and his broken heart.

**A/N: I just wanted to tell everyone that I really appreciate your reviews, whether it's constructive criticism or plain positive feedback (which always makes me smile). For those of you who have critiqued, I am taking into account what you've told me, but this is my first fic and I'm still working on my writing skills. HOWEVER, I will do my best to change/improve the things you think I could. Special thanks to Phoenix1592, who always makes me smile with her reviews, and to all of you just for reading and being awesome, and also everyone who favorited and alerted. On with the story! **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

For a while, Lily's sleep was peaceful and dreamless. But the darkness shifted aside, as an image of a beautiful young woman sitting in a plushy pink chintz armchair. The woman leaned closer, narrowing her gorgeous eyes slightly.

"Can you hear me, sweetheart?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Lily replied, suddenly conscious that she was dreaming. The other woman sensed the shift in her emotions as anxiety filled the teenager.

"Relax," she advised. "I'm Aphrodite – I won't hurt you, but I won't let you wake until I'm quite done speaking. So just listen for a moment, alright?"

Lily snorted. "You know what, I've had a really rough day and I don't feel like having the gods poke their noses into my business just yet, okay? So how about we talk some other time?"

Something in the goddess' face hardened, and Lily sensed that she had picked a fight with the wrong person…okay, wrong goddess.

"You will hear me out, or I will make you fall in love with a bear, Lily Christine Shaw," the goddess snapped. "Now listen. What you saw earlier today – that lovely boy kissing my daughter – was not his fault. Drew inherited her looks from me, yes, and also her charmspeaking ability, but she is one of my more…shallow children – after all, a girl has to indulge, and I represent that side of women as well. You see, sweetheart, he didn't expect that she would try to seduce him like that – it's worked on every other boy, as you probably expect." She paused, allowing the meaning of her words to sink in.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Aphrodite giggled, a tinkling laugh that seemed to hang in the air after she had closed her mouth. "Honestly, sweetie, you can't hide things like that from me. I am the goddess of love, you know. I know you like him, and I can't blame you…if only he was a bit older, even I might have…well, never mind," she demurred, as Lily blanched. "My point is that you shouldn't give up on him just yet. The two of you could be quite the couple, you know. I could add you to my collection."

The goddess waved her hand to her right, and as the dream's confines expanded, Lily noticed a wall covered in pictures. It seemed that Aphrodite had pictures of all the couples she liked – Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, David and Victoria Beckham, Percy (her brother!) and Annabeth, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, two lovers who Lily assumed were Helen and Paris, and many more whom she did and didn't recognize.

"Many of these are my children," Aphrodite commented, gazing at the wall. "But I'm not so selective. Just…play your cards right, okay, sweetheart? There are some powers who would prefer if you fail."

"If I fail what? And who?"

Aphrodite glanced around almost apprehensively. "Well, Zeus, for one," she said. "I don't know the rest – since you and Nico are not a couple yet, no one has chosen sides but he – as far as I know. As for your other question, are you sure you really want to know? Ask your brother, Percy – sometimes ignorance really is bliss."

"Well, I can't have you planning out my life, and I'd rather just know whatever you're hiding," Lily answered. "I have not knowing things."

The goddess sighed. "You are so like your father. You can both be infuriating sometimes. Luckily for you, I feel patient today." She plucked a rose out of nowhere and inhaled its fragrance. "Well, just before you entered Camp a few days ago, I had a – a prophecy, you could say. The thing is, since I'm not an Oracle, and I am the goddess of…romantic feelings, it was more of a hunch than anything else. You and this boy – the two of you have a forbidden love. And don't you dare start shaking your head as if you aren't in love – well, maybe it's just a crush, but you'll get there if you spend enough time around him. It's simple chemistry, with a little biology and physics. You can't help it, sweetie.

"So the thing is, you would end up shifting the balance of power on Olympus – it would move away from Zeus and towards Hades, which is something Zeus fears greatly. Our children's accomplishments and entanglements affect us as well, and a union of two of the Big Three's children would lead to a strengthening of their relationship as well. Do you see why the two of you are such a threat to Zeus? And on top of that, his only daughter has sworn off boys (I really can't understand why) and Hades' son is quite powerful."

Lily sat in shock. If she even tried to have a relationship with Nico, Zeus would most likely try to kill her. Comforting. But beneath the shock and fear, she felt a growing wave of anger threatening to overcome her again (it must be her father's fault – she'd heard Poseidon was quite moody and that described her emotions perfectly).

Aphrodite sensed that the girl was quickly becoming angry again, but this time towards the gods in general. She decided it was better to escape before the teenager said something stupid about Zeus or even the other Olympians.

"Nice talking to you, sweetheart, and try not to freak out, alright? Just talk to your brother if you need to." The dream dissolved, and Lily woke with a start.

The cabin was mercifully empty. Lily fell back onto the pillows, frowning at the hippocampi swimming around the ceiling, her mind buzzing with what Aphrodite had told her.

A couple hours later, Percy began to worry when he couldn't find Lily anywhere outside. He pushed open the cabin door and frowned when he saw her asleep.

"Wake up," he called, kicking the door shut. "You've been asleep for four hours. Get up now, you need to go help Nico check the defenses in your area. Move it."

Yawning, she stood and stretched. "Can I ask you something?" she mumbled.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"What do you know about Aphrodite?"

He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "She's manipulative, powerful, scary, beautiful, and if she has an interest in you, you had better run and hide as soon as possible. Why?"

She shuffled her feet. "Well, I had a dream, and she told me…things."

"What did she say?" He was now giving her his undivided attention, worried.

"That…well, that Zeus wants to kill me and that me and Nico could really shake things up on Olympus by shifting power towards Hades." She was now staring at her bare feet.

"That's…well, don't worry too much," he advised. "Zeus has wanted me dead for ages, it's nothing new. Sort of. Just don't do anything too out there, which I guess would mean to stay away from Nico. The thing is, if Aphrodite is interested in your love life, it's probably going to be rough. She doesn't like things easy. But take it easy – it'll work out. Like me and Annabeth. Go find Nico in a few minutes – I guess you're feeling better?" She saw the uneasiness on his face, and realized he was remembering her rant about his friend.  
>"Yes," she whispered, and retreated into the bathroom, glad Nico didn't know how nastily she had spoken about him earlier, although she hadn't really meant a word of what she said.<p>

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting! I know these chapters are short, but I will post some longer ones soon. Life is getting busier, so I may not be able to post every day, but I will try to post at least a few times a week (hopefully). Thank you, please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After waiting half an hour for Lily to show up, Nico stormed back to Cabin Thirteen, disgusted with her. Although he definitely wasn't a player, and had never had a serious girlfriend because he'd never found anyone he really liked, he was familiar with the feminine species, and had thought he could read her easily. She'd seemed so innocent and beautiful when he first saw her, with the sunlight shining on her hair and sparkling in those ocean eyes of hers, that he had fallen for her right then. The way she interacted with him afterwards – blushing, smiling, lowering his eyes when they met his – had convinced him she returned his feelings, albeit shyly. But hearing her talk to Percy about him had changed his mind. And now – she didn't even have the decency to help him out with their work? They were supposed to strengthen and review the defenses that had been erected, and he'd done it all himself.

He threw his sword at the wall, knowing it wouldn't get damaged. Well, the sword wouldn't. No promises about the wall. He sighed and opened the closet to check his armor. It was usually in good condition – Stygian iron was hard to wear down, but it was better to be safe than sorry. For the same reason, he kept extras of almost every weapon he had: extra knives, daggers, swords, bows, arrows, and so on. It was difficult to lose a fight if you had reached even half the level of preparation that Nico di Angelo maintained, and he knew it.

Rubbing his dark eyes, he put a hand on the wall next to the fireplace and it melted away, revealing a circular room with a deep pit in it. He used the room to hone his skills at necromancy, and to communicate with his father and sister. The door slid closed behind him as he poured root beer into the pit.

Brushing away the hair that the wind blew in her eyes, Lily raised one small fist and knocked on Nico's door. The area around the creek had been deserted, so she had come to Cabin Thirteen to see if he needed her to do anything. No one answered the door, so she knocked again. After waiting for a few minutes, she gently pushed the door open and walked in. His armor was spread out on one of the bunks, and his sharp sword, blacker than a nightmare, lay below a dent on the wall. But the room was empty. She sighed, and turned to go, when she heard voices coming…from behind the wall?

She stood near the fireplace, where the voices were loudest, and recognized a deep murmur as Nico's. But how was he behind the wall? She put her hand on the obsidian, looking for some crack or fissure, and instead the entire wall vanished, revealing Nico and…

Nico had summoned Bianca almost immediately after entering the room. She was the one person whom he could tell anything, and because she was a ghost and therefore able to access and eavesdrop on all sorts of people, sometimes she knew more than he did. Bianca had been cautioning him about being too angry with Lily when he heard a loud thud. Turning, he saw Lily unconscious on the floor.

Bianca smiled gently. "She meant no harm, Nico, when she was talking to Percy. She's had a rough day. She really does care about you. Try to understand that." She looked into her little brother's eyes, and saw the conflicting emotions there. He was trying to bury his anger, but it was still there.

"Let her talk to you," she suggested. "If she tries to keep things moving, let her come closer to you before you bring it up. It may save your relationship. And I should go – see if she's okay. I love you, brother."

"Love you too," he whispered, releasing the magic and allowing her to slip away like she did so many years ago, leaving him lost and alone. Years later, he had never stopped missing his sister – he had lost the last connection to his family except for his father.

He walked over to Lily and carried her out of the room, laying her onto his bed. He could see her life aura if he wanted to, and it was only slightly subdued – nothing serious was wrong with her, besides the shock of seeing a real ghost for the first time. The shadows her eyelashes cast on her cheeks wavered, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Ohmygosh," she gasped, sitting bolt upright. She looked at him frantically, her eyes wide and terrified. "What just –"

"You fainted." He passed her a glass of water.

"Was that really a…a ghost?" Her little teeth clinked against the glass as she drank, the color returning to her face soon after.

He nodded sharply.

"Whose?" She asked, her curiosity piqued. She missed his body language signals, which clearly broadcasted the fact that this was a forbidden subject.

"None of your business. Where were you today?" He snarled. "I had to go over everything, and I know nothing about your powers! I just took guesses on things involving you because I had no idea how you needed them to be. You may think that you can keep the rest of us hanging just because your father is Poseidon, but if you ever pull something that stupid on me again, you will pay for it."

"Well, maybe I had a killer headache and needed to lie down!" She hissed back. "And it's not like there was so much work for you to do – and at least I came to see if you needed me to do anything. Forgive me for trying to be the bigger person!"

Something changed in his expression, and she paled, backing away until her back touched the wall behind the bed.

"YOU are the bigger person?" he repeated quietly, and somehow his silky smooth tone scared her more than his shouting voice. "And I suppose I'm an untrustworthy son of the Underworld who's going to betray and kill all of you, isn't that right? Just because of whom my father is?" A part of him enjoyed the shock and raw fear in her eyes as she realized he had overheard her, and another part of him wanted to gather her into his strong arms and hold her forever as her eyes began to tear up.

"I didn't –" She broke off as they heard screams coming from outside the cabin.

"What the hell…" Nico pushed open the door and found several bows pointed straight at him.

"Nico di Angelo." A girl with spiky dark hair, blue eyes and the shield Aegis strapped to her arm stepped up. "We need to talk."

He raised his eyebrows, inwardly wondering how stupid these silver-parka clad girls could be to threaten a son of Hades. "About what?"

"Shut it," she snapped. "We're being attacked by skeleton warriors right now, and they're damn near impossible to kill. Clarisse told me you checked the attacking force out _thoroughly_, and that there were no skeletons trying to attack us. Since you're the only one who can control them, it's obvious that –"

"You think he's coordinating their attack?" Lily asked incredulously, standing on her tiptoes and craning her neck to see over Nico's shoulder. She eyed the new arrivals distrustfully. "I don't know who are, but that is one of the most unintelligent things I have ever heard."

Exactly half the arrows shifted aim to point at Poseidon's daughter, who refused to be intimidated by the mere possibility of instant death (Seriously, she was hiding behind Nico, of all people. She wasn't going to be dying anytime soon.)

"Daughter of Zeus," Thalia said. "Name's Thalia. And you're probably one of his Aphrodite flings. Get going, we don't need you muddling things up."

Nico opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Lily shoved him aside and stood directly in front of him, facing Thalia. "That's nice," she smiled unconvincingly. "We'll talk to you later." And she slammed the door in the other girl's face.

She hated bullies. She always had. It was one of the first things she and Percy had discovered they had in common, and somehow this daughter of Zeus seemed like a downright bully to Lily. Breathing hard, she turned around, and stepped back into the door when she found herself face-to-chest (yeah, he's that tall compared to her) with Nico.

Drat. She'd forgotten they'd been fighting. He probably would have no idea what to do with her now, unless he was still upset. There was no way he would trust her though. He hated her now, didn't he?

"You didn't have to get involved," he murmured into her ear, still standing so painfully close, but still keeping a gap between them. "You don't want Zeus' kid as your enemy…she's pretty powerful, and she's a Hunter of Artemis. She's practically immortal and even stronger for it, and besides, it wasn't your fight."

She looked up at him through a veil of black eyelashes. "You can't restrain the sea," she whispered, repeating something Percy said Poseidon had once told him. "And my daddy is pretty damn powerful too – I think I can take her." She broke off when a conch sounded from outside – it was Chiron's call to summon the camp together. Opening the door, she turned around before stepping out. "And besides, you would have done the same for me." She ran before he could see the tears in her eyes as she realized she wasn't too sure of that last sentence.

Chiron was standing in the mess hall, waiting for all the campers to arrive. "They are here," he finally announced, his voice tired and cracked. "We will be under attack in an hour or less. But before we prepare, I want to let you all know something the gods think I should not reveal, but that may urge you all to be more cautious.

"There is…another power at work here. It has the ability to…freeze time, and it is exercising it in your lives. Essentially, you are all immortal – you are not aging. You have not been since you stepped foot in camp any time after this summer. You have therefore been denied the ability to grow into your powers and strengths – unless you are around seventeen or eighteen years old, you are not as strong as you can be. Therefore you are more vulnerable. So please, be careful. Especially…if we really are dealing with Kronos again."

Silence weighed upon the camp. Those who had fought in the second Titan War were remembering the pain and fear that had stalked them, and others were terrified at the very thought.

"At least I don't have to worry about that girl being immortal anymore," Lily muttered to herself. She eyed the people around her surreptitiously until she found Nico, who had a frown between his brows and was tapping one Converse-clad foot impatiently.

"Well, stop worrying, you pansies," Clarisse ordered, jumping up onto the tabletop. "We have bigger problems. We took down Kronos once, we can do it again. But if we don't survive today, we are NEVER going to see Kronos' ugly mug again. Everyone go find your armor and get it on. Grab your weapons, let's move it! Get to your stations!" As people began running around, she grabbed Nico's arm and swung him around to face her. "You're sitting this one out, punk."

"Make me," he sneered.

She glared right back at him, doing her best to intimidate him and failing miserably. He was by far the scariest demigod any of them knew, when he wanted to be. "I'm serious, kid," she said. "We can't trust you right now. We've got the skeletons locked up, but we can't kill them. We need to know where they came from, and you're the prime suspect."

"Have you considered the fact that not all monsters are stupid, and that some of them called for reinforcements? Or were you too busy trying to figure out how to put on mascara so you'd finally impress that dude you're interested in?"

She swung a fist at him, but he'd easily dodged. "You are NOT fighting with us, Hades spawn," she hissed, so angry that she nearly had flames dancing in her eyes like her father did.

"Bull," Percy snapped, walking up. "He's fighting. We need him – without him, I doubt we have a chance. I trust him, and that should be good enough for you." He turned his green eyes to his best friend. "Lily wanted me to tell you she's heading straight there – something about having her sword tucked into her boots and hating wearing armor. Stay safe, buddy, and take care of her." They man-hugged briefly and Percy jogged away. Nico gave Clarisse one last, angry look before melting away into previously nonexistent shadows.

Lily reached into one of her brown, suede knee-high boots and pulled out her sword. She'd worn black skinny jeans with a fitting green v-necked shirt, and as she moved through a few stretched, she was delighted to find that the outfit moved with her. Glancing around, she noticed the younger demigods (and a few older ones) who were fighting with her and Nico moving into position. A slight rustle to her left made her tilt her head to locate the source, and she froze, blood pounding into her cheeks as her heartbeat went haywire.

Nico had shadow-traveled less than two inches away from her left arm. He wasn't even looking up – he had a knife in his teeth and was untangling his sword from a thin leather bracelet on his left wrist. He was wearing black armor over his dark clothes, but his helmet was dangling from one of his fingers, and he looked…_delicious_, in Lily's opinion. His smooth hair flopped back as he yanked his sword free, lifted his head, and noticed her.

"Hey," he muttered, nodding at her, before backing into the shadows and crouching in a defensive stance. Why wasn't she moving? He wondered. She was standing in the one patch of light that was actually there. Dammit, he realized. She'd never fought before – she had no idea how to actually wait for an attack. "Come here," he breathed, barely loud enough for her to hear. He shifted a little, giving her space in the darkness. "Stay still and hide until they show themselves. Then you can do practically anything you want." She shivered as the bare skin on their arms touched when he shifted his grip on his sword. Even in the dark, he looked hot.

Nico saw her blushing, and allowed a small smile to tug on his lips as he watched her fidget with the hem of her shirt, twisting it in her fingers while biting her lips. Dwarfing her hand with his own, he stilled her nervous fingers with a single touch. "I'm sorry I yelled at you," he whispered softly into her ear, bending down slightly. "I know you didn't mean it."

She raised her eyes to his, but a twig cracked somewhere in the woods before she could respond. He sucked in his breath as a large figure moved between the trees near them, and felt her tremble as she noticed it as well. There were more shapes in the half-light now, and Lily was steeling her nerves, preparing for the fight. As the adrenaline began to course through her veins, she turned to look at Nico – only to find him so much closer than she expected that her lips brushed his when she turned.

Chuckling, he gave himself a few seconds to enjoy the blush seeping from her neck into her cheeks. She had lowered her eyes in embarrassment and confusion, but he shrugged to himself – it just gave him an excellent opportunity to study her other features (which were equally as gorgeous as her eyes, he felt). He could see it even in the near-darkness – standing so close behind her had been an excellent idea on his part. Oh, if that idiot Valdez could see them now. He wanted so badly to reel her in and kiss her properly, but before he could, an arrow whizzed by her ear, and she brandished her sword, hissing. The invasion had begun.

Meanwhile, Annabeth and Percy had taken up their stations, waiting for the action.

"Ready, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth whispered. She and Percy were hiding behind the canoes, getting bored by the sheer lack of monsters.

"Do I get a kiss for luck? Tradition, you know." He winked.

She rolled her eyes. "Instead of asking me for a kiss, just imagine what your sister and di Angelo are probably doing right now…you know he likes to hide in shadows before a fight, and since she has no clue what to do she's probably with him." She giggled as his face paled and grabbed him as he tried to get up.

"Like hell I'm going to let him touch her!" The thought of Nico kissing his sister made him angrier than he expected – it wasn't Nico's fault, it was more the possibility of his pretty, innocent little sister kissing any guy that bothered him.

"Stay STILL, Percy," Annabeth gasped, holding fast to his arm. "And besides, didn't you tell me that you think he'll be perfect for her? Just let them be or they'll never get anywhere. And she's sixteen, and a Big Three demigod – she can take care of herself."

"I don't – want – him – touching – my – little – sister!" Percy spluttered, struggling as she tried to keep him from giving their position away. "And she can't take care of herself around him – she freaking has a crush on him!" Frustrated, Annabeth tackled him and assaulted his mouth with hers, knowing it would shut him up.

"Actually," he breathed, when she finally broke the kiss, gasping for air, "I think I'll just stay here."

**A/N: PLEEEEEEEEEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING AND REVIEWING AND FAVORITING PLEASE KEEP IT UP! LOVE YOU ALL AND A BIG FIGHT COMING UP! If you have any issues/questions/comments/concerns feel free to contact me **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So I know I've been horrible about replying to reviews lately, but it's NOT because I don't want to – I've just been really busy and doing my best to get the next chapter up so as not to disappoint all my lovely reviewers and readers. And also, one of my reviewers pointed out that if Nico is 17, Percy should be 21. I am aware of that, but I preferred to keep Percy a teenager without making Nico too young, so I played with his age. So thank you verymuch, I am doing my best to incorporate all your suggestions, and hope you like my latest offering!**

Chapter 10

An hour later, Nico discovered that he and Lily made an excellent team. They didn't even need to speak to each other – they moved in sync and with perfect timing without even trying to. She looked like a goddess fighting, he thought, slender and flexible and goddamn beautiful and dangerous and…okay, brain, shut up. He shook hair from his eyes and lunged. A hellhound howled and splattered him with yellowish dust as it vaporized. Across the stream, Lily and the naiads were hammering at the attackers with water. She controlled it with her own body – she would move her arms and hands and waist and the water would flow where she wanted it to. It was a beautiful process, he observed, watching the water cast rainbows on the ground as it sparkled. Panting, he scanned the area – campers were entangling with monsters all around them, but for a moment he was free.

Actually, scratch that. A group of empousi had encircled Lily, drawing her away from the other naiads. She couldn't fight all of them, six on one was too many, especially for a girl who lacked experience. There was no way for him to reach her in time on foot; he would have to shadow-travel. Moments later, he appeared by her side and blocked a strike from an empousa with curly red hair and honey eyes. He had evaporated two and was facing off with a third when Lily staggered against his back. She'd lost her balance, and her attacker was swooping down to bite her –

Nico grabbed the girl and shadow-traveled them both a few feet away, right into the creek. They both went under the water, but she could still breathe. He, unfortunately, could not. Her weight was above him, pinning him down along with the disorientation he felt, and although he could see the blurred outlines of the empousi being vaporized by a surge of water, he had a more pressing problem. He pounded weakly on the girl's back, trying to get her to understand that he was suffocating. Moments later, she seized his sodden shirt and dragged him out onto dry land. Pounding on his shirt, she got him to cough up the water he had swallowed.

"I'm okay," he rasped, pushing himself up and drawing his sword again. "They need you over there." Seeing her open her mouth, he pushed her in the direction she was needed in. "I'm serious, I'm fine, GO!" She ran off, brandishing her sword, while he admired the view.

As he was shaking droplets of water from his hair, Nico noticed a sudden movement to his left. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw…oh, holy Hades, no.

Leo Valdez ran up, his face slightly blackened with soot. "LILY!" he yelled, ignoring Nico completely. "DUDE, LILY, I NEED YOU!"

The girl in question ignored him, focusing on trying to save one of the naiads, who had engaged some sort of flying monster. Nico snarled at him, and Leo backed up slightly. "I MEAN I NEED YOUR HELP!" he shouted at her over the noise of the battle and rushing water.

Flipping her dark hair out of her face, Lily nodded at him. Sending one last barrage of water at a group of hydras, drowning them in a sphere of the cool liquid, she ran over.

"What's going on?" she asked breathlessly. Leo's heart contracted slightly at her voice. Gods, she was so beautiful, even when her shirt was torn at the hem and there was blood on it.

"Fire at the strawberry fields," Leo answered, licking his suddenly dry lips. "We can't put it out, and Percy and Annabeth are too busy to help, so I thought that if Death Boy here can hold down the fort on his own for a while, you could come and help."

"I'll come," she decided. "Nico, I'll be back soon, alright? Good luck!"

Leo grabbed her hand and pulled her away before Nico could respond. Death Boy? Honestly. That moronic second-rate blacksmith probably considered himself lucky if he had even half an intelligent thought a week, Nico thought angrily to himself. His thoughts would have gotten even ruder, but a group of clattering skeletons confronted him, distracting him.

A few hours later, Nico was beginning to get seriously annoyed by everything – the never-ending fight, Lily's continued absence, and the fact that LEO had been the one to take her from him. He was flowing from one movement to the other, stabbing and lunging and slicing, and he could see that the invading force was quickly growing weaker – but not quickly enough. He was irritated, yes, but he could handle it. Moments later, he felt a pang and whirled around to see one of his wolves being killed by an empousa. His temporary grief grew into anger, and then full-blown fury, and a furious son of Hades is nearly as scary as his father. He summoned waves of zombie warriors from the ground, called upon hellhounds and other unsavory Underworld creatures to serve him, and within moments had a pounding headache but no enemies left. Campers were staring at him in fear and awe, but he sent his miniature army towards the other monsters still in camp and strode away, hiding the weakness in his frame.

Lily, meanwhile, was not faring quite as well. She and Leo were currently pinned underneath a huge hydra – nothing like the small ones she and the naiads had drowned earlier. Her sword was lying a few feet away, and Leo was too exhausted to do more than moan. There was a nasty cut on one temple which he had gotten by saving her from a hellhound – it had come at her from behind and he had shoved her out of the way, getting slashed across the forehead before she had dispatched it. The hydra snarled down at her, and she snarled right back, wishing she was strong enough to summon the waters again.

Before it could attack her, there was a loud howl, unearthly enough to raise the hairs on the back of her neck. Suddenly a swarm of skeletal warriors attacked the hydra, shooting at it with outdated guns or stabbing it with knives. She staggered to her feet, dragging Leo away with her. They weren't too far into the fields, but she couldn't see monsters anywhere – only campers.

"Lily!" Annabeth ran up to her. She seemed unharmed except for a small graze on her left arm. "Oh gods, you're bleeding. Let me help –"

"I'm fine," Lily said, searching the campers milling around for Nico. "Leo needs help. Is it over?"

"Yes, I think Nico lost his temper and summoned a few more cronies than he meant to, but it was really helpful for us. I just hope he's okay – the last time he tried to summon more than he could, he nearly died. Percy says his powers drain him a lot." Annabeth swung Leo over her shoulder, glad he was so skinny. "I'll take this guy to Will – he'll be okay. Go find Nico." She winked and ran off, leaving Lily to marvel at how she managed to run while carrying a son of Hephaestus on one shoulder.

She returned to the woods, but encountered no one. The area around the stream where she and Nico had been fighting was nearly deserted. A few naiads were sitting on the rocks in human form. They smiled, waved, and slipped back into the water, vanishing from view.

Catching a look at her reflection in the creek, Lily sighed. A cut on her face had bled all over her cheek. Her right arm was pretty badly bruised and in one spot above her elbow she had another gash. The worst one was on her stomach, though, right above her hip. A hellhound had clawed at her and torn through her shirt with its claws, leaving her with a painful wound. Maybe she should have emulated Nico's example and worn armor.

"Nico?" she called, moving between the trees quietly. A twig snapped behind her, and she turned to see Percy standing before her.

He stepped forward and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered.

"I'm glad you're safe too," she breathed into his shirt. It smelled like Annabeth's favorite perfume, making her smile.

"Have you seen Nico?" he asked. "We've been looking, but I don't know where he is. I don't know if he's okay or not – that was a lot of minions he summoned."

"Did you check his cabin?" she asked suddenly. When Percy shook his head, she pulled away from him. "I bet that's where he is! I'll go see." And she practically ran off, making Percy laugh to himself. She had it bad.

Nico was in his cabin. He didn't feel ready to face the others – they'd just step away from him and avert their eyes again. They feared him, and he knew it. Most of the time they tried to act normal around him – when he wasn't summoning skeletons or getting a dark, angry look in his eyes that was reminiscent of his father, he was pretty much a normal teenager. But now, they remembered who he was – an outcast. That had never really changed.

He tossed his armor onto one of the beds, pulling off his shirt to assess the damage. Mostly he was okay, because the armor had protected him, but he had a dark purple bruise on his chest, a scratch on his neck, and an arrow wound in his shoulder. Mumbling a few curses in Ancient Greek but glad he'd gotten off reasonably well, he rummaged around behind his bed in the little cabinet he kept extra food in, looking for some ambrosia or nectar. He hadn't felt this weak in years, he thought ruefully.

A knock at the door roused him from his thoughts, and he went to open it. Lily was standing outside, and he saw her cheeks redden when she realized he didn't have a shirt on. Her reactions were hilarious, in his opinion: first she blushed and lowered her eyes, and then she started sneaking looks at his body through her eyelashes, as if he couldn't seen that. He was about to make a comment about her checking him out when he remembered how she had run off with Leo. A green monster reared its head inside his chest, and his jealousy managed to override everything else.

"You need something?" he asked curtly, wishing he could slap himself the moment the sounds left his throat.

She flinched involuntarily, and the blood left her cheeks. "Nothing. It's – I'll see you around." But as she stepped back, he noticed the blood on her face, arm, and shirt, and a roaring in his ears blocked out everything else.

Grabbing her unhurt arm, he hauled her into the cabin, kicked the door closed, and sat her down gently on one of the beds. "Stay still for a moment," he muttered, and resumed searching through his food collection. He tossed her a square of ambrosia and took another for himself, bringing the bag with him as he sat facing her.

"So why are you really here?" he asked, more gently.

She focused on the food in her fingers. "Percy and I couldn't find you," she replied. "I thought you might be in here. He said you'd probably be pretty weak, since you don't usually summon so many and I wanted to…I wanted to see how you were."

"So where's Valdez then?"

Her expression took on a look of concern, and he felt jealousy dig its sharp claws into his chest. "He was hurt," she said softly. "He saved me from a hellhound and he's got this huge gash on his head. Annabeth took him – she says he'll be okay."

Nico stood abruptly. "You should go see if he's alright," he said. Taking her elbow in his hand, he walked her to the door, ignoring her hurt and confusion, which she was trying to hide. "He'll be in the Big House." And he closed the door, sinking to the floor after he did so, gripping his hair in his hands and trying to even out his breathing.

He knew he was definitely being quite rude, but he had lost control when he saw the concern she felt for Valdez. And he realized that in a way, Leo was better for her than he was. Leo was accepted – he was a powerful son of Hephaestus, he was funny, he was intelligent and talented. Whereas Nico was an outcast – he terrified nearly everyone he met. He finally understood how his father had felt, and why he had kidnapped Persephone instead of just getting down on one knee. He rubbed his eyes when the door opened again, and he groaned.

"What, you don't want to see me?" Percy joked, stepping in. "Put on a shirt, man, Lily may appreciate that view, but I've got better over here." He took a better look at his friend's face and raised his eyebrows. "Hey, you okay, Nico? What happened?"

"Nothing," Nico mumbled, pulling on a black button-down shirt and leaving the top couple buttons open.

"Sure. Really, what happened? Did she say something stupid?"

"No, she just worried about Valdez, so I told her she should go see him." Nico turned away, pouring some water into the hollow of his hand and rubbing the blood off his neck.

Percy sighed. He wasn't a son of Aphrodite, but he wasn't stupid – it was pretty obvious Nico was jealous. "Nico…"

The other boy fell back on his bed, yawning. His eyes were closing despite his best efforts – it was obvious he was exhausted. Feeling no need to hide his weakness from Percy, who had known he would be adversely affected, he closed his eyes.

"With great power comes great need to take a nap," he whispered, seeing his friend smile through his lashes. "Wake me up later."

"Your powers drain you too much," Percy responded. "I'll send Lily in to look in on you." Chuckling at the desperate but feeble attempt Nico made to protest before passing out, Percy left his friend fast asleep and left the cabin.

Lily smiled unconvincingly at Leo, appreciating his attempts to cheer her up but wishing he wouldn't keep barging in on her thoughts about a certain young man. She had seen the flash of jealousy and anger in Nico's eyes, but he had kicked her out before she had been able to really explain herself. _Great_, she thought, _now__he__probably__thinks__I__have__a__crush__on__Leo._But then she remembered seeing Drew kissing Nico, and although Aphrodite had assured her than he had had no part in that, Lily wished that Nico would have at least mentioned it to her.

"Earth to Lily," Leo called, waving a calloused hand in front of her face. "Anyone home?"

"Yeah – what did you say?"

"I just wanted to say thanks…for coming to help when I asked you to," he said. He leaned forward, his face more serious than she had ever seen it. "We were in pretty bad shape till you came, and, well, yeah." His dark eyes found hers as his face drew closer. Before she understood what was happening, he had one hand behind her head and was kissing her.

Bang! The door slammed against the wall and Percy strode in, his eyes blazing.

"Get away from my sister NOW!" he yelled, and Leo jumped away from her as if burned. Percy turned to Lily, taking in her scared and sad expression. She was avoiding Leo's gaze, her cheeks pale.

"Hey, Percy, look man, I didn't –" Leo broke off when Percy grabbed him and slammed him against the wall.

"Don't even think about doing it again, understand?" Percy hissed. He was worried about Nico – if Nico heard about this before Lily or Percy got a chance to talk to him, he would take it as a clear rejection.

Leo's eyes searched for Lily's, trying to gauge her feelings. She looked at him sadly, and shook her head, blinking away tears as his disappointment showed clearly in his face. "Damn," he sighed. "I never get the girls I want, do I?" He slumped against the wall as Percy let him go, dragging his sister out of the room after him.

"Percy, where are we going?" Lily asked, running to keep up with her brother as he took long strides away from the Big House. "I didn't do it on purpose, Percy, I didn't even know he was going to try and –"

"I know," Percy said curtly, "But I saw Drew spying through the keyhole, which is how I came in. If she went and told Nico, in the event that she got into his cabin, then, well, it'll be a disaster. Come on." And he broke into a run, crossing the lawns to Cabin Thirteen.

As they drew closer, they recognized Drew at the porch, seizing the doorknob in one hand. The moment she touched the door, she was thrown backwards, and landed in a sprawling heap on the ground. Percy jumped over her, not even checking to see if she was okay, and Lily skirted past her, following Percy. They both entered quickly.

Nico was still asleep. A thin trickle of blood was still seeping from the wound on his neck, trailing down his chest and into his shirt. Lily bit her lip as she studied his sleeping form – he appeared to be so peaceful and still, unlike how he normally was. She felt hands on her shoulders, and suddenly Percy forced her down onto the mattress beside Nico.

"Stay here," he whispered. "He'll be glad to find you when he wakes up." As he reached the door, he turned back in time to see Lily smoothing Nico's hair away from his forehead. Smirking, he left.

Looking around, Lily saw a small bloodstained cloth lying on the table near Nico's bunk. He must have used it to wipe away the blood, she realized, and gingerly picked it up. Gently, trying not to hurt or wake him, she dabbed at his neck, cleaning the blood away. Her hair tickled his face and throat, and he opened his eyes to find her leaning over him, unaware that he was awake. She rubbed a little too hard, and he let out an involuntary gasp of pain, signaling to her that he was awake. She sat back abruptly, blushing and depositing the cloth where she had found it.

Pushing himself up on his elbows, he yawned and looked at her. "What's up?"

Something was wrong – he could tell by the way she lowered her eyes uncomfortably and sighed before speaking. "Nico, I went to see Leo, and…he kissed me."

His dark eyes, so full of pain and sadness on almost any day, narrowed. "Well, it was pretty obvious you two were going to become a couple. Congratulations," he said coldly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. She and Leo, a couple? Oh no. "Nico, you don't understand, Leo and I, we –"

"So now you two are a 'we,' huh?" he snapped. "I'm not blind, I could see the way he mooned after you. But tell me, did you just enjoy the attention, or do you really like that idiot?"

"He isn't an idiot," she said indignantly, "And I do not enjoy attention. And it's not really any of your business anyway –"

"Of course it is!" he exploded. "You barge in here and tell me you kissed Leo, and then you expect me to –"

"I didn't expect you to do anything!" she shouted, standing up so suddenly she nearly lost her balance. "And at least I told you about it! I saw you and Drew making out behind the armory that day, you know." She stomped to the door, and yanked it open. "Oh, and Leo and I aren't a couple," she snapped. "I told him I didn't want to date him. But at least he's an honest guy, unlike you." Slamming the door, she fled before he could see the tears falling from her eyes.

But then, she wasn't giving Nico enough credit. He was perceptive enough to hear the quiver in her voice long before the first tear even formed, and he had felt so incredibly guilty when she attacked him with her last few comments – that she had seen him with Drew, and that she had turned Leo down. She had rejected Valdez, but had felt the need to confess to him that they had kissed. And in return for her honesty, what had he done? Yelled at her, misunderstood her, hurt her, and then yelled some more.

"I'm an idiot," he groaned, leaning against the bunk bed.

"Yes, you are," a softly amused voice said. Bianca's ghost shimmered against the wall as she watched her brother. "But you can still fix it, you know."

"How, Bianca?" he muttered. "She probably doesn't want to see my face again, especially after she turned Valdez down for me and I treated her so badly."

She laughed. "And how do you know she turned Leo down for you, little brother? Maybe she just doesn't like either of you."

A flash of his old arrogance lent a smile to his face. "She definitely likes me," he said. "She can't hide it too well. But it's…complicated for her, that much is obvious."

"Well, you can't really hide anything from anyone either, you know? Even Father has noticed that you like her, and really, Nico, he's not too pleased. So you'd better get a move on before he decides to interfere. Just tell her how you feel, little brother, and apologize and explain about Drew. It's hurting her more than you know.

And also, just remember that love is never easy for us, Nico. Children of Hades, we are bonded strongly to each other, yes, but because of the way others see and treat us, we find it hard to give ourselves to others. Just don't be afraid of her. She will never intentionally hurt you. And if she realizes how much you care, she will treasure your heart when you finally give it to her. I wish you luck," she said softly. "I love you, brother." She reached her hand out towards him and disappeared.

"I love you too," he murmured, staring at the place where she had vanished. Time to look for that elusive daughter of Poseidon.

**A/N: Pleease review! I hope you liked it, and even if you didn't, please tell me what I can do better! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: OHMIGOSH I just wanted to thank everyone for the amazing positive feedback I got for the last chapter! I really wasn't sure about it but all of you were so supportive! I love you guys so much – hugs for everyone! **

Chapter 11

Lily was lying on her stomach on the grassy top of the climbing wall, staring out over Long Island Sound. Angrily brushing away the tears that wouldn't stop rolling down her cheeks, she laid her head on her hands and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the water. Her father was out there somewhere, she knew, but sometimes she wished she could meet him. Percy had told her about him, but it wasn't the same. Not really. She would never really know her father, just as she would never really know Nico. The tears started again, and she buried her face in the ground, crying silently. It was impossible for her to even pretend that his treatment of her hadn't hurt.

Hearing light footsteps behind her, Lily pretended to be asleep, hoping the intruder would go away.

"Lily," Nico's deep voice whispered, his hand touching her shoulder blade lightly. She tried to keep still, but his touch caused her to shiver involuntarily, and he instantly knew she wasn't asleep. Drat.

"What do you want?" she choked out. Lily turned to face him, and saw his eyes shutter up almost immediately when he saw her tear-stained face. She wiped her cheeks and turned away from him, watching the waves.

"I'm sorry," he breathed. When she didn't respond, he sat down next to her, ignoring the way she edged away from him a little. "I really am sorry, Lily," he repeated. She blushed at the way he said her name with so much regret and longing, but her curtain of hair thankfully hid that from him.

"You said you saw me making out with Drew," he continued in a low voice, "But I didn't intend to kiss her. She came up to me when I was leaving the forge and said she had a question about her new knife to ask me. She came towards me carrying one, and I thought she was just going to show it to me, and then she sort of grabbed me and kissed me before I could do anything about it."

"You have such quick reflexes," Lily whispered, trying to keep her voice steady, "So why couldn't you avoid her?"

"I wasn't paying much attention," he said. "And I felt bad about just shoving her away – I ended up shadow-traveling back to my cabin." He put his hand on her cheek and turned her face towards him gently. "The reason I wasn't paying attention to her was because I saw you standing at the outside of the arena, and you had this lost look on your face and you looked so beautiful." He studied her face, the high cheekbones, the reddening complexion, those large eyes that were lowered to the ground in embarrassment, and the lone tear that clung to one of her long eyelashes. Brushing it away, he leaned in. "I…I'm not really any good at this," he confessed, "But I want to give us a try. If you want to, that is, I won't force you or anything, but I mean I just –"

Lily's insides were instantly dancing when he told her she looked beautiful, and when he said in a roundabout, twisted and totally endearing way that he wanted to have a relationship with her, not even all the hurt he had caused her, inadvertently or not, could have changed her mind.

She placed a slender finger on his lips, silencing him. "That's a great idea," she whispered. "But there's a catch. There's something you should know first." Lily told him everything Aphrodite had told her, and she couldn't meet his eyes when she finished, positive he was going to change his mind about her. So when she heard his deep chuckle, she couldn't believe her ears.

Nico laughed softly, smiling his amazing smile. "You think that's enough to change my mind? Zeus goes around wanting to kill everyone – I don't even know if he likes his own kids very much. He's been after me for forever, but picking a fight with my father is usually not the best idea. And so what if we screw Olympus over a bit? Change can be good, and you can teach old gods new tricks. Percy proved that."

The way he looked at her made her melt inside – his eyes were so full of hope and love (even though he may not know it yet) that she snuggled into his broad, strong chest, pushing her face into his shirt and wrapping her arms around his slim waist. She inhaled his scent and smiled, feeling happier than she had in a long time as his arms wrapped around her small body. They sat together till the sunset, skipping dinner and barely talking, just enjoying the feeling of finally being together.

After eating with Nico in his cabin (she couldn't believe the food Nico had stored with him), Lily returned to her cabin and showered. She liked to air-dry her hair, and was sitting on the bed in pink sleep pants and a slightly short tank top when there was a knock on the door. Percy hadn't come in yet – he had been with Annabeth the last time she'd seen him, so Lily assumed it was him. But when she opened the door, she staggered backwards as someone with flaming red hair nearly knocked her over.

"Jessie?" Lily laughed, closing the door. "What's up?"

Apollo's daughter brushed her straight red hair away from her dark blue eyes (a stunning combination, in Lily's opinion), and grinned a grin reminiscent of her confident father. "Did he kiss you?"

"What?" Lily blinked, not understanding the other girl's question. "Who?"

Jessie plopped down on the nearest bunk, sighing contentedly at the comfort. "Nico, you idiot, who else? I'm assuming you said yes to him? 'Cause if not, I'll take him. And ohmygosh, these beds are so damn soft. Can I just stay here? Slumber party?"

Lily giggled. "Sure. We'll make Annabeth stay over too? I'll kick Percy out for tonight – he shouldn't get too upset."

"Fantastic! Annabeth makes wonderful popcorn. Do you guys have a TV?" She looked around the cabin. "What? Children of a Big Three and no humungous TV? What is this?"

"Well, I guess it would be nice if we had one, but…" Lily trailed off, staring at the wall above the seawater fountain that was gurgling away happily. The abalone had shifted, revealing a crazily big flat-screen TV. A cabinet had appeared in the corner, and when the girls opened it, they found practically every movie imaginable stored inside.

"AWESOME!" Jessie yelled into her friend's ear. "Can I trade you dads? This is amazing. And you didn't answer my questions. Did you say yes to Nico, and did he kiss you?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, I said yes, and no, he didn't kiss me. And how do you know?"

"What? Come on, dude. You both skipped dinner – you realize rumors are flying all over the place about you two, right? No one could fail to notice that you two were gone because there aren't very many people who eat at your tables. It was obvious. You'd better hope Percy isn't killing Nico right now. So tell me, what DID you guys do? Oh, and I know because I told him where you were. He was looking for you, and he knew we're friends, so he asked if I'd seen you, and I had, so I told him where to find you."

"Nothing! We just sat with each other for a while, and we had dinner in his cabin and watched that new Transformers movie on his TV. It's even bigger than this one," she smiled, gesturing toward the one her father had provided. Instantly, it grew a little bigger, as if Poseidon was miffed at being told he was second-best to Hades. Lily giggled. "And thank you. I owe you my boyfriend." She started laughing harder.

Jessie leaned forward, narrowing her midnight-blue eyes. "We're friends, right, Lily? So come on, you have to tell me more than – Oh, hi guys!"

Lily turned around, twisting a damp strand of hair around a finger and smiling as Percy and Annabeth entered. Their hands were intertwined, and Lily smirked as she realized Percy's lips were shimmery again – he really needed to tell Annabeth to wear a less shiny lip gloss.

She stole a glance at Jessie, and they were caught with a fit of giggles when each realized that the other had noticed too. Annabeth understood a few minutes later, and blushed, whispering something in Percy's ear.

"Shut up," he told the girls, hiding a smile as he wiped off the offending lip gloss with the back of his hand.

"Jackson, you can leave now," Jessie announced. "Annabeth's staying though."

"You can't kick me out of my bachelor pad," Percy asserted, hiding a grin.

"Funny," Lily remarked, curling up on a plushy sea-green armchair, "I thought this was my bachelorette pad. And we want to have a slumber party in here – me, Jessie, and Annabeth."

"So unless you want to listen to us comparing notes on our boyfriends, you should leave," Jessie said, examining the nail polish on her index finger.

Percy wrapped his arm around Annabeth, who cuddled into his side as they sat on the sofa. "Oh, I don't know," he mused. "It'd be interesting to hear what the Wise Girl thinks of me."

"Pleeeease, Percy?" Lily begged, giving him the oh-so-irresistible Bambi eyes she had perfected years ago.

He sighed and got up. "I'll go crash at Nico's, then. See you guys."

"Wish you were him, Lily?" Jessie winked at her friend and pretended to cower as Percy glared at her before walking out the door. "Wait – I need clothes to sleep in. Can we drop by the Apollo cabin?"

"And Athena," Annabeth said. "I need sleep clothes too. Let's go."

Lily grabbed one of Percy's sweatshirts that fell down to the middle of her thighs, and the three of them went to Apollo's cabin first. Lily caught her breath when she got a good look at it. From the outside, it was made of nearly solid gold – with just enough "other stuff" mixed in, according to Jessie, to keep it solid. Inside was another story.

Each person had decorated the wall behind their bunk with pictures of favorite singers or bands. A huge poster of Apollo decorated the farthest wall. Bows and arrows were on display, as well as other projectiles – basketballs, soccer balls, footballs, and rocks for when they were in really bad moods. Several campers were strumming guitars from the tops of their bunks, and Will Solace was singing loudly from his upper bunk to the accompaniment of the guitars, a can of Coke in his hand. The girls were all congregated in small groups of threes or fours, giggling over jokes or YouTube videos. Music clashing with the guitars and Will was playing from the stereo system installed throughout the cabin. Annabeth was giggling silently at Apollo's children, but Lily was more preoccupied with the pictures of Nico that she found taped next to Jesse McCartney and David Archuleta behind many of the girls' beds.

"Okay, let's go," Jessie shouted over the cacophony, reappearing near her friends with a Forever 21 bag full of her sleepwear and other things. "Come ON, guys, before Will starts singing You Belong With Me. It's not fun." She dragged the other two out of the cabin.

Athena's cabin was much quieter. Smartboards were humming on the walls, and the silver curtains were closed against the moonlight. Malcolm and one of his brothers were arguing about battle strategies on the biggest Smartboard, scribbling all over it with illegible scrawls as they debated. Several other campers were kneeling around a large map of the camp, going over strategies for defense. Annabeth quickly gathered her stuff into a gray silk bag with an owl on it and skedaddled before she could be asked for guidance. She stuffed her silver laptop into the bag as well, earning eye-rolls from her friends.

Ten minutes later, they were leaning on the counters of the small kitchenette in the back of the cabin. Annabeth was in charge of popcorn and Lily was making the hot chocolate (**A/N:****That****'****s****a****sleepover****combination****I****love!),**so Jessie stared around idly, looking at the décor.

"Hey, Lily, can I look through those?" she asked, pointing at the photo albums Percy had stored near the fireplace.

"Yeah, just wait for a few minutes till this stuff is done – we'll go through them together. I haven't seen them yet either."

Curling up on the rug in front of the fire, they began flipping through Percy's photo albums. The first few were filled with pictures of him, Annabeth, and Grover. But the fourth had several pictures of a younger Percy and a younger Nico, both of them standing in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, eating gelatos and waving at the camera.

"Aww, he was so cute! And look, he wasn't wearing black!" Jessie poked the photo-Nico's red, white, and green shirt with her finger. "So, tell me, what's he really like? None of us really know – he keeps to himself for some reason."

Annabeth blew on her hot chocolate and sipped some gingerly. "Isn't it obvious, Jessie? It's basic psychology – and not even that. The kid's smart. He knows that most people are downright scared of him because of who he is and what he can do, and that others just don't trust him because of his father. He hasn't even done anything wrong – in fact, he's only been helpful. He stays away from people because he doesn't want to be judged anymore. Percy says he's a really good guy if you just give him a chance, and I'm glad Lily's doing that." She smiled.

"He is a really sweet guy," Lily concurred. "He's really opinionated, though, and he knows exactly what he wants and how to get it."

"Like you!" Jessie squealed, and collapsed into a giggling fit. Annabeth sighed loudly.

"Come on, Annabeth," Jessie said. "You don't need intelligent company ever two minutes. Even Percy isn't that smart, but you put up with him, don't you?"

"Yeah, but he's a good kisser," Annabeth said with a straight face, and then joined the laughter.

"Hey, do you guys know anything about Nico's sister?" Jessie asked suddenly, sobering up.

"He has a sister?" Lily asked, surprised.

"I think so," Jessie replied. "I heard one of the Ares kids muttering something about her and some Hunters a few days ago, but I wasn't sure who to talk to about it."

"Had," Annabeth said quietly, her face serious. "She was…two years older than him, I think. Her name was Bianca – Bianca di Angelo. She was really sweet. She'd been taking care of him for years; their mother died when they were very young. Zeus killed her, but he'd been aiming for the children. Hades managed to protect them, but he was too slow to save their mother. Bianca died years ago – they were on a quest, and she gave her life for her friends. They never even found her body." She sighed. "Percy told me all of this, and I'd really appreciate it if you guys don't spread it around. But it's pretty much why Nico's so withdrawn – he's basically lost his entire family over the years. It cut him up for a while, and Percy felt really guilty, because he'd promised to take care of her."

Lily stared at the rug, playing with the tassels absentmindedly. Poor Nico. No wonder he was so hesitant to really get close to people – he'd lost everyone he'd actually loved.

"Man, that sucks crap," Jessie whispered.

Annabeth nodded. "I really don't know how he's managed to be such a good person in spite of it all. With the powers he has, he could probably kill all of us in our sleep if he wanted to."

"I don't think he needs those death-god abilities to do it," Jessie grinned suddenly. "Lily, have you checked his muscles out yet? He's built like a god." She sighed, adding whipped cream to her third mug of hot chocolate and staring at it absently.

Lily giggled. "They're not huge until he flexes, but when he does – wow, he's got some big guns there."

"Okay, this isn't getting me anywhere!" Jessie whined. "I need details! Minute stuff! Does he have any tattoos? How big are his hands? What color is his hair in the light? I mean, come on!"

Annabeth rubbed her eyes. "Guys, I'm dead tired. Can we just go to bed?"

"No WAY." Jessie jumped up and opened the freezer. She grabbed three cartons of ice cream and sat back down with spoons.

"I call the chocolate," she said.

"Strawberry here," Lily announced, taking the one she wanted.

"Fine with me," Annabeth smiled, opening the cookie dough carton. "Mmm, I love this stuff." She stretched out on the floor.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, and then Lily spoke up. "Nico's worried about why the gods aren't telling us anything," she said. "I mean, whatever we know has been told to us when it shouldn't have been – remember Chiron saying he shouldn't be telling us about Kronos freezing our ages?"

"Yes," Annabeth said, laying her spoon in the box of ice cream. "I agree with him. Something is badly wrong. It's like they're scared of something…but what? Kronos shouldn't have the energy to reform, so unless…" She trailed off, a worried look in her eyes. "Guys, I need to check something." She pulled out her laptop, and for once, Jessie didn't object.

Mumbling to herself in ancient Greek, Annabeth typed in a few words, and bit her lip. "Oh no. Damn, I didn't think that…Guys, we have a problem."

"Is that an understatement?" Jessie asked, sucking her spoon. "Great," she muttered, when Annabeth didn't answer. "What do we do now? Tell Chiron."

"No," Annabeth said. "We aren't going to tell him anything until we know everything. And right now, we don't. So this is what we're going to do. Lily, will you run down to Cabin Thirteen and bring Percy and Nico over here? I'm going to find Thalia. Don't pull faces, Lily, she's smart, powerful, and she'll be good to have around when we plan our strategy. And then we're going to figure out exactly what's going on and what we need to do to deal with it."

"Okay," Lily said. "Jessie, will you make sure my ice cream doesn't melt? I'll be back." Sliding her feet into a pair of flip-flops, she ran out the door. Annabeth didn't look happy at all as she stood up to find Thalia in Cabin Eight. This couldn't be good.

**A/N: So, another chapter is uppp. Please review! I love to hear from you guys, it always makes me happy to see what you have to say. I also wanted to thank TwilightPersonLover for being awesome and helpful and plain fantastic! Thanks everyone and see you next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Lily opened the door to Nico's cabin and looked around in shock, letting the door close soundlessly behind her. The walls must have been soundproof, because inside the cabin was a far cry from the silence outside. Sound engulfed her – loud rock music was blaring, but she couldn't see any speakers anywhere. In front of her, Percy and Nico were…oh gods. They were sparring, but with their hands, not swords. She watched them, fascinated.

Percy moved efficiently – he didn't waste his energy. Every move he made was necessary and well-placed, and somehow it reminded her of the way Annabeth fought. Maybe they'd learned from the same person, Lily mused. But it was Nico who held her attention. His style was graceful – he moved like a cat, and was more flexible than his opponent. And even his jerkiest movements had an innate grace to them that made her breath catch in her throat. His forearms were strong and corded – somehow she loved the way his veins protruded from his arms. It made them seem that much more powerful and masculine to her. Just when she leaned against the door, indulging herself in the enjoyable pastime of simply watching him, he turned his head and saw her.

Ducking away from Percy, he walked over. "Hey," he said softly, stroking her cheek lightly, fascinated with the light blush that appeared where he touched her.

"Hi," she breathed, watching the way his neck and collarbone moved as he panted slightly from the exertion, and wishing that he'd taken his shirt off so she could have a better view. Her cheeks reddened, and Nico smirked at her.

"What's going on? Why are you here? Is everyone okay?" Percy walked over, pulling Nico's hand away from her face and pretending he hadn't done anything. His innocent face didn't look at all convincing.

"Annabeth had some sort of epiphany," she said. "She wanted me to bring you two to Cabin Three so we could talk about it. She says she has an idea of what's going on right now. She went to get Thalia."

Percy nodded. "We're coming. Let's go, Nico." He pushed Lily out the door and followed with Nico.

They reached the cabin, and found Thalia, Jessie, and Annabeth standing around and talking. Percy dunked his head under the saltwater fountain, and rolled his eyes when Nico snickered.

"Don't laugh," Percy muttered. "It makes me feel better when I'm tired." He shook his head and the water droplets sprayed Thalia, who jumped and mock-glared at him. "Sorry."

"Okay, everybody sit down and I'll explain. Oh, and I need…where's Nico?" Annabeth looked around the cabin.

"Right here," Nico said, melting out of the shadows in which he'd been hiding. Jessie shrieked at his sudden appearance and then buried her face in Lily's shoulder, blushing. Nico grinned. "It makes me feel better if I'm tired. Be one with your source, right, Percy?" He sat on the floor, resting his forearms on his knees and leaning forward slightly.

Lily settled herself between Nico's legs and leaned back against his warm chest, feeling his chin drop onto her head. She smiled and studiously avoided Jessie's eyes while waiting for Annabeth to start.

"So earlier this summer, I noticed that there's been a lot of strange weather recently," Annabeth began, placing her laptop on her knees as she sat on Percy's lap, ignoring his pretended grimace at the extra (and negligible) weight. "I just did some quick research, and apparently Aeolus filed a complaint about rogue storm spirits a few years ago, right after Kronos was defeated. As far as I can tell, the gods paid him very little attention, and life went on. But there are also more monsters roaming around, and I thought there might be a connection, so I did some more research using Daedalus' search engine, and I found something out." She closed the laptop lid with a click, waiting for its humming to die away before continuing. "Basically, the chaos that Kronos very nearly unleashed didn't just disappear – all those monsters that nearly escaped Tartarus are still escaping. Hades either didn't notice or didn't care enough to stop them properly, and enough are getting out that they can still attack us at camp and cause some serious disasters. Kronos is probably spread out in a very thin layer over the world, but I think he sensed the increase in chaos and did his best to make us more vulnerable."

Thalia frowned. "So basically, because Hades isn't doing his job and Kronos nearly wrecked the world, monsters are using the pathway Kronos left open to escape Tartarus?"

Lily felt Nico tense behind her and decided to speak up before things got out of hand. "Well, it's not exactly Hades' fault," she said. "He probably has other things to worry about –"

Thalia scoffed. "Yeah, right," she snapped. "Get your facts straight, girl. He's useless! They had a reason for kicking him off Olympus – he's dangerous, unstable, and downright lazy!"

The atmosphere shifted, suddenly becoming darker, and Lily was conscious of an intense cold near her right arm. Looking down, she pushed herself into Nico's left arm as she realized he'd drawn his knife, and was holding it in his right hand, caressing the blade lightly with his thumb. His silent message was far more eloquent than a verbal one – that knife spoke of a thirst for blood. She shivered, and he gently rubbed circles on her left hand to soothe her.

"Thalia, back off a bit," Annabeth sighed. "Hades really does have a lot to deal with – I'm the architect here, and I know. I visited the Underworld a while back, and the traffic down there is horrendous. There's spirits running all over the place because so many people died, and things are still not really calmed down. He's got Daedalus working on the traffic, but he has to keep control of everything else – it isn't easy."

"So what are we going to do?" Jessie asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. She smirked to herself when she noticed Nico caressing Lily's hand almost unconsciously – those two were so perfect for each other.

"We are going on a little quest," Annabeth announced, her gray eyes sparkling.

Percy groaned. "I've had enough adventure for a lifetime," he complained. "Can't we sit back and let someone else take care of it?"

"No way," Thalia grinned, electricity crackling through her hair suddenly. She ignored the way Jessie flinched back in alarm and said, "The gods will think we're being stupid and paranoid – they never believe us till it's too late. So, which of us are going?"

Annabeth stood up. "All of us."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard," Annabeth said, knowing Thalia was going to argue. "We need everyone in this room if we're going to succeed. And, Thalia, can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

The two girls stepped out, and Annabeth sighed. "Thalia, I know you don't like Nico, but can you please tone it down? He's not that whining, sad little boy anymore – he's a good guy, he's dating Lily, and Percy trusts him – isn't that good enough for you?"

"He's the reason Bianca died," Thalia snarled. "Can you forgive him for that? She didn't deserve it – she was a really sweet person. If he hadn't driven her up the wall so many times, she wouldn't have been so desperate to escape her life, and she wouldn't have ended up dead. Do you know how much I wish that hadn't happened?" Her voice broke.

"That's so unfair," Annabeth hissed. "Listen to me, Thalia. You cannot blame him for that – do you know how torn up he was when she died? I think you do. He loved her – he still does!"

"But he was the reason," Thalia repeated.

"No he wasn't," Annabeth sighed. "Thalia, please. Don't blame him for that, and try to play nice. Pleeeease?"

Thalia ran a hand through her short hair, closing her eyes. "Fine."

"Thank you!" Annabeth flung her arms around Thalia, feeling suddenly giddy. "Oh, and Lily is included. She's really sweet, and one day Percy is going to snap if you keep treating her and his best friend badly."

Thalia muttered something to herself, and they went back inside. Nico and Percy were talking quietly in the corner, and the two other girls were squealing on the couch about something they were looking at on a sleek black laptop that Lily was holding.

"What're you guys looking at?" Annabeth asked, perching on the sofa next to Jessie.

"Pictures of their Italy trip last summer," Lily answered, tilting the screen so Annabeth could see too. "Nico uploaded them onto his laptop."

"They both looked so cute!" Jessie gushed.

"Hey," Annabeth interjected, "That's my boyfriend you're ogling!" She laughed and stood up. "So, Thalia and I agreed," she said, raising her voice slightly. "ALL of us are going to make sure that Tartarus gets closed properly."

"Are you sure?" Nico asked, eyeing Thalia mistrustfully. "If we don't work as a team, this is going to be useless – and I know she doesn't want to work with me. One of us will have to stay, or we'll jeopardize the entire thing."

"She will work with you," Annabeth assured him, ignoring Thalia's skeptical expression. "Anyway, I think we should leave tomorrow night – that gives us enough time to get everything together." She yawned. "We'll meet here tomorrow night at eight, okay? Good night, everyone." She hugged Percy and walked out the door.

Thalia and Jessie left next, leaving Nico alone with Poseidon's children.

"I'll just…bathroom…" Percy mumbled, and walked away, leaving the others alone.

Nico stepped towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled. "Come here."

Moving closer, she let him wrap her arms around her and laid her head on his chest. "Are you scared?" she whispered, fisting his shirt with her small hands.

"No, should I be?" he chuckled, pressing his face into her hair. It smelled of vanilla, making him smile. Vanilla was one of his favorite smells, along with cinnamon and citrus.

"I am," she confessed. "We have to go the Underworld! What if Cerberus tries to eat us, or the Furies attack us, or –"

"Or just maybe," he interrupted, "You have a son of Hades going with you who is more than capable of getting himself and all of you through the Underworld unharmed." She softened a little in his arms, and he tightened his grip. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Get some sleep." He walked away after giving her one last squeeze, and she stood in the doorway, still feeling his arms around her.

She woke up a few hours later from a restless sleep. Her dreams had been troubled – full of slashing talons and screams. Pouring herself a glass of water, she pulled a book out from below her pillow, hoping to escape into another world. But it was no use – she couldn't focus. Closing the paperback, she stowed it away again. Wrapping herself in the sheets, she curled up and closed her eyes, praying to her father to keep the nightmares away.

On Mount Olympus, two goddesses were wandering in the gardens, discussing the couple that Aphrodite had lovingly nicknamed "Lilico" even before they had actually hooked up.

"My husband isn't going to like this," Persephone warned. "He's gotten very protective of that boy – he nearly bit my head off when I turned Nico into a dandelion."

Aphrodite giggled. "Well, Lilico is so cute that honestly, I don't think Hades has a choice. They've gone up on my wall, and they are not going down. Besides, they're trying to go on a quest together! How adorable." She smiled dreamily.

Rolling her eyes, Persephone sighed. "Alright, Aph, but please don't force them together. Hades won't stand for it, and you really don't want to make him angry."

"Okay, I won't," Aphrodite said cheerfully. "How's Poseidon taking the news, do you know?"

"You really don't keep up with the news, do you?" Persephone laughed lightly. "While you were fixing your hair, there's been a huge hurricane brewing near Italy. In the Mediterranean – can you imagine that? Hermes is complaining he doesn't know what to do with the mortals. They're going crazy, apparently. Poseidon isn't happy at all. He's very protective, a lot like his son, you know, and the idea of any boy running his hands all over his baby girl gives him the shivers."

Aphrodite plucked a pink rose and smelled it. "Beautiful," she murmured. "You know, whenever I see a new couple, I think of them and pick a rose. The better it smells, the more beautiful yet challenging their love will be. And see, this one smells fantastic. It doesn't matter if neither of their parents approve. Sometimes the best flavors are forbidden."

"Why couldn't I have powers like that?" Persephone whined, taking the rose from the other goddess. "All I can do is change things into flowers. Mmm, yes, this smells wonderful. So this is an automatic prediction of their coming experience?" She twirled the rose in her fingers, and it turned into a pink lily with streaks of black through it. "What do you think?" She proffered the rose.

"Symbolizes them quite nicely," Aphrodite replied, tucking the lily into Persephone's hair. "And it's not a fail-safe prediction, but it usually works quite well. Being the love goddess gives you all sorts of interesting abilities." Smiling, she stood still as a pair of doves flew towards her and settled on her shoulders, cooing softly.

Persephone nodded, her eyes far away. "What did my rose smell like?"

"When you married Hades, you mean?" Aphrodite questioned, not liking her friend's sudden sadness and pain. "Honestly, Persephone, it smelled…tangy. A powerful, sweet, but at the same time slightly sour love is what you headed into your relationship with. The problem was that you didn't return his feelings, and that probably didn't go down with him too well, right? But there is potential to turn it into something sweet, love. You just have to find it. Men are never indifferent, no matter how much they pretend they are. Now let's go back inside, shall we? I really want to sample those chocolate bunnies my new beau gave me last night."

**A/N: So this chapter was a little shorter than I like to have them nowadays, but I hope it answers your questions! The "Lilico" comment I squeezed in is all thanks to TwilightPersonLover, who thought up that little nickname for them a while ago. I just had to include it in my story (laughs maniacally). So thanks to everyone who favorited/subscribed/reviewed, and please REVIEWWWWWW! I tried not to make it too apocalyptic, but I hope you guys are okay with the "plot."**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Lily, are you packed?" Annabeth asked, walking into Cabin Three and looking around. "It's nearly eight, I can't find Percy or Nico anywhere, Thalia's sitting inside Cabin One ready to go, and Jessie can't get her bow and all her arrows to fit in one bag. I don't know what –"

"Relax, Annabeth," Lily said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I have everything I need in here. And Nico told me he and Percy are going to check that the coast is clear before we leave. He said they'll meet us here."

"How come your boyfriend tells you everything?" Annabeth whined. "I've been dating Percy for years and he didn't tell me." She collapsed onto a couch, swinging her legs over the arm.

"It probably slipped his mind," Lily answered, biting her lip and sifting through her bag to check that she'd taken everything she needed. "You know he loves you."

Annabeth blushed and smiled. "Yes, I know he does." She grinned suddenly. "And have you noticed the way Nico looks at you with those starry eyes? And he even ignores everyone else when you're with him."

The girls were laughing together when the door opened. Slipping in silently, Nico snapped his fingers to get the girls' attention.

"Let's go," he called quietly. "It's dark out, and no one's watching." Seeing Annabeth opening her mouth, he forestalled her question. "Percy's getting Jessie and Thalia," he said.

He crept out of the cabin and motioned for the girls to follow him. He stole catlike through the camp, slipping effortlessly and soundlessly between shadows so that he was effectively invisible. Annabeth and Lily followed him, and soon they were standing near Long Island Sound.

"So where are we going, and how?" Jessie asked, her teeth chattering. Annabeth eyed the other girl's short shorts and tank top distastefully, and shrugged.

"Like this," Percy said. Nico snapped his fingers, and three BMW motorcycles melted out of the darkness. One was red, one was silver, and one was black.

"Pair up," Nico commanded, taking Lily's hand in his. "And keep this in mind: the next time you buy yourself a sweet ride, don't park it in the shadows." Smiling wolfishly, he guided Lily towards the black motorcycle and indicated that she should get on behind him.

"What about licenses?" Annabeth asked, evading Percy's hands as she refused to climb on. "We could get arrested or killed if you guys don't know what you're doing."

Reaching into his pocket, Nico pulled out a black leather wallet and flashed a card at Annabeth. "I'm licensed," he told her, "And so is Percy. I made sure he was. And Thalia…I'm pretty sure she has one too." Zeus' daughter nodded at him, and he turned back to Annabeth. "You're in safe hands," he said. "Get on the bike. We need to get out of here before they realize something's wrong."

Annabeth sat reluctantly behind Percy, glancing surreptitiously at Lily.

"Nico," Lily said, "Are you sure you know what to do with this thing? And don't we need helmets?"

Percy chuckled. "Nico's hella good," he said. "You won't need a helmet. And yes, Wise Girl, I do know what to do with this." His head snapped up in surprise as Thalia started her motorcycle and zoomed away onto the road, Jessie's red hair trailing behind them. "Hey, Nico," he called. "Where's the ignition?"

A few tense moments later, involving Annabeth whacking Percy on the back of the head, they were all on the road. They rode in a V-shape, with Nico at the head and Thalia and Percy riding behind him. Lily had her arms wrapped around Nico's chest, and she was resting her head on his shoulder. She loved the feel of his muscles rippling through his thin black button-down shirt whenever he moved, and the wind blew through her hair, lifting it off her neck and into the breeze. Annabeth seemed to be enjoying the ride too, but Jessie looked uncomfortable and desperate to get away from Thalia.

"We're here," Thalia shouted over the wind, turning off the road onto a quieter street.

Central Park loomed up out of the darkness, and Nico parked the bike and jumped off before it had fully stopped. As soon as everyone dismounted, he snapped his fingers and the bikes vanished, presumably to return to their original places.

"What are we doing here?" Jessie asked, her voice higher than normal. "It's not safe!"

Lily felt Nico slide an arm around her waist even as Percy replied. "You're with us," he said, "You'll be fine. We just need to check out the situation in the Underworld before we map out our game plan."

"Walk with me," Annabeth told Jessie, smiling at the younger girl comfortingly. They walked in silence for a while, until Nico motioned for them to stop and stepped forward.

"Jessie," he said, "I need you to sing."

"What?"

"You're the daughter of the god of music," he said. "I need you to sing a song. This is the door of Orpheus," he explained, motioning to some rocks. "The only way to gain access is by playing music or singing, and you've probably got the best singing voice out of everyone here." He glanced around. "And hurry. We're some of the most powerful demigods out there, and we're going to start attracting monsters real fast."

Jessie cleared her throat and moved close to Lily. "This song is for you and Nico," she whispered, and began to sing. She had a beautiful voice, and she had chosen Love Story by Taylor Swift. Within seconds, the rocks cracked and moved apart, revealing a hole in the ground.

"Thanks," Nico said, clapping her on the back. "Okay, Thalia first, then Annabeth and Jessie, then Lily, Percy, and me. Move out, troops."

They climbed in and the rocks closed behind them.

"I hate dark, closed spaces," Thalia grumbled from the front. "Nico, where am I supposed to go?"

"Go straight," he shouted from the back. "We'll be there soon. And yes, it's safe, Percy and I did this before."

Thalia tapped her wrist and Aegis spiraled out into its full form. Feeling more protected, she led the way for another few minutes before they emerged out of the ground into the Underworld.

Percy looked around. "We go that way, right, Nico?" He pointed straight in front.

Nico stiffened. Something wasn't right – he could feel it. There was a chill seeping into his bones, and the ancient part of him, the part most connected to his father, told him to run. And suddenly, he saw why. The spirits of the dead were scattering – something was scaring them from behind. The ground was shaking – a horde of monsters was coming towards them. Before any of them could get hurt, Nico lunged forward and wrapped them all into a huge bear hug. Gathering his strength, he shadow-traveled them right back to Central Park, the first place he thought of.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Thalia shrieked, jumping to her feet and drawing her spear. "What was that, huh?"

No one replied. They were gathered around Nico, who lay spread-eagle on the ground, unconscious. Blood was trickling down from a corner of his mouth.

"Monsters are coming out of Tartarus faster than they should," said Annabeth, her face pale. "If that army tries to attack camp, we probably don't stand a chance. Not without major preparation."

"But what happened to Nico?" Lily asked, sitting on the ground with his head in her lap. She stroked his silky hair, looking up at Percy.

"Shadow-traveling requires him to use his own energy to move," Percy sighed. "He's pretty good at moving himself or another person around, but I don't think he's ever tried to take so many people with him before. He's just drained – did anyone bring ambrosia? We'll give him some when he wakes up."

"I have some," Jessie said, passing Percy a bag full of the little yellow squares.

"You realize this means that it's going to be even harder for us to fix this, right?" Thalia said, turning to Annabeth. "If Hades isn't doing anything about this, we need to find a way to stop them getting out so quickly. And then we have to see where they're headed and warn everyone at camp. But why would they just keep attacking? It's getting repetitive, seriously."

"We'll just take things as they come," Jessie decided. "Right now, we need to find someplace to stay, and wait for Nico to wake up. He probably knows what to do."

"We'll stay right here," Thalia decided, motioning to the area around Orpheus' door. "This place is protected by the Mist – we won't get walked in on if we stay close to it. I can make camp – talents of the Hunters, you know?"

Sure enough, she managed to produce a tent out of nowhere, and had it set up within minutes. "There are sleeping bags inside," she announced, "And I'll make hot chocolate. Come on, and bring that kid inside. He'll get better faster where it's warm."

Percy dragged Nico into the tent, and moments later the latter began to groan.

"What the hell is this?" Nico muttered, pushing himself up on his elbows. He was lying on a soft silver sleeping bag, in a silver tent, surrounded by the group of teenagers all holding steaming mugs. It was warm inside the tent, and it was zipped up, obstructing the view of the night outside.

"Thalia's tent," Lily answered, squeezing his hand. She had barely spoken for the past fifteen minutes, too worried about him to form a coherent sentence. Passing him a mug of hot chocolate, she motioned for him to drink it.

"How do you feel?" Percy asked, leaning forward. "We have ambrosia if you want it."

"Yeah, I'd like some," Nico said hoarsely, taking the bag and popping a square into his mouth. "So we have a problem," he murmured.

"How are we going to get to where we need to?" Thalia questioned, examining the faces of those around her. "And even if we do somehow magically make it to Tartarus, what are we going to do there?"

"We're going to put up weak magical barriers," Nico answered, placing another piece of ambrosia into his mouth. "Then we go to my father and explain what's happening."

"What barriers?" Jessie scrunched her eyebrows together, confused.

"You explain," Nico mumbled, looking at Percy and reaching for more ambrosia. Lily slapped his hand away, and he gave her a wounded look. She giggled.

"Basically, there's a reason why we have four children of the Big Three here right now," Percy said. "Nico says he's found a way to channel our power into creating rudimentary magic – we can do what the gods can, but at a smaller scale. Some of us are better at it than others; Nico could probably kill you with a blast of energy if he wanted to right now, but I have trouble summoning enough energy to kill an ant."

"How are you going to harness it?" Thalia asked, a strange look in her eyes. "That's a lot of power, but to get it together…"

Nico sighed over his hot chocolate, blowing on it to cool it. "Ideally, we'd all be connected mentally, so that we can combine our energy through a mental link. Honestly, though, that takes a lot of experience and a high degree of comfort with the person you're with, so I don't know if all of us can do it. And besides, all we need to do is see how bad the problem is and fix it before they can attack camp again – because at the rate the monsters are re-forming, we probably won't be able to fend off a second attack."

"You know what," Jessie yawned, "That's fascinating, but I need to sleep. Good night." She crawled into her sleeping bag, closed her eyes, and promptly fell asleep. The others soon followed suit, but Lily took Nico's hand and pulled him out of the tent with her. They stood in the cold night air, just inside the radius of protection that the Mist provided.

"Are you okay?" Lily whispered, looking up at him. "You were bleeding, and really pale."

"Just tired," he sighed. "I hit my head when I landed – that would probably explain the blood." He clasped her hand in his and pulled her towards him, hugging her tightly as she pressed herself into his chest.

"Do we really even need to try to set up a barrier?" she mumbled, her words muffled by his shirt. "All we need to do is tell your dad something is wrong and get him to fix it, right?"

"It's not so simple," he said, rubbing circles on her lower back with his fingers. "The thing is, I told my father about this last month, and he told me it's nothing to worry about. And, I didn't really want to tell anyone because they'll all panic, but he isn't in the Underworld right now. That's probably partly why they're finding it so easy to regroup; he and Poseidon are working on trying to figure out where Kronos' consciousness is trying to gather. So we need to hold down the fort both in the Underworld and at camp at least until he gets back. Right now, they're trying to keep from contacting us or Olympus to minimize their magical trace."

She looked up at him, the stars reflected in her large eyes. "We should get some sleep," she murmured, hooking her fingers around his strong upper arm. "Tomorrow, we're going to go kick some monster butt." They returned to the tent, their laughter mixing together in the night air.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEWWWW! The feedback I got for the last chapter dropped considerably from what I've been getting – am I doing something wrong? *Sniffles* It made me very sad. I really want to hear from you all – pleasepleaseplease review for me! Thank you so much! And I know it's short, but I felt like I needed to update. So here you are *smiles***


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Brownies and cookies for everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews and favoriting and subscribing – it really made me very happy. I just realized I have so many reviews for this story – it's amazing how supportive all of you are. Thank you veryvery much! **

Chapter 14

The next morning, Thalia woke everyone up at six to begin discussing their plans. "We need to figure out what we're doing – are we returning to the Underworld?"

"I don't think all of us should go," Percy said, sitting cross-legged on top of his sleeping bag. "We need some of us to return to camp, tell them what's going on, and make sure they're up to scratch. The rest of us should get back to the Underworld and try to limit the number of monsters that are actually escaping from Tartarus."

Annabeth twirled her blonde hair around a finger. "What do you think, Nico? Nico?"

The boy in question yawned loudly, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "What?"

"Get out of that sleeping bag already!" Thalia scolded. "I woke you up fifteen minutes ago. We're trying to talk to you!"

"Yeah, whatever, did you say something?" He looked expectantly at Annabeth, and listened as she elaborated on her question. "I'm definitely going to the Underworld," he said, "And I need to take either Percy or Lily with me for sure. Thalia will be useless – no offense, Thalia – because she and I can't work together well enough to merge our powers."

"You take Lily," Percy decided. "Annabeth, Thalia, and I will go back to camp – can you take Jessie with you?"

"Yes, we can," Lily answered for her boyfriend.

"I don't know," Jessie said. "I mean – the Underworld is kind of scary, and I don't know if I can –"

"Okay, you know what? Annabeth and I will go with Nico and Lily, and you go back with Thalia." Percy stood up and stretched. "Meeting adjourned, people. Do you know where the coffee is, Wise Girl?"

As they all began to move around, the girls rushing to be the first into the built-in bathroom that the Hunters had managed to include in the tent's design, Lily saw Nico creep out of the tent's flap and followed him, grabbing two mugs of coffee on her way out. He was sitting on a bench in the park, a ways away from the tent – since they had slept in their day clothes, they didn't look too conspicuous, just a little ruffled.

Handing him a mug, she sat beside him. "Hey," she smiled, nudging him with her shoulder lightly.

He smiled back and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "You look beautiful," he whispered, pressing his lips to her cheek gently. She blushed and lowered her eyes, and he smirked, loving the effect he had on her. He leaned in again, kissing her forehead, when he heard someone clearing his throat behind them.

"Excuse me, young man," a tall, dark-haired man said, "But my wife is having some trouble with her cell phone. I was wondering if you could come over here and take a look at it?"

Nico nodded. "Sure. Be right back, Lily." He kissed her hair and walked away with the other man, who led him into a clump of trees far enough away that Lily was out of earshot.

"You can drop the disguise now," Nico snapped.

The man's exterior shifted, and Nico was standing face-to-face with a tall, still dark-haired man with piercing green eyes, scarred hands, and a tan. Poseidon narrowed his eyes at the insolent boy in front of him. "Stay away from her."

"What?"

"You heard me," Poseidon growled. "Stay away from my daughter. She's too young to be in a relationship with _any_one, and I will not have –"

Nico scoffed. "Don't try to order me around," he snarled. "My father is just as powerful as you are – you can't intimidate me. She's old enough to take care of herself, and if she doesn't want me around she'll let me know. You don't need to get mixed up in this."

"Yes I do," Poseidon insisted. "She's my daughter, you can't just –"

"Yeah, and some father you've been," Nico retorted, smirking slightly as Poseidon's expression showed his guilt. "Completely ignoring her, letting her get nearly killed by monsters – she doesn't even know what you look like! She only knows vague things about you because Percy actually cared enough to tell her, but it's not the same as actually knowing you." He lowered his voice. "And right now, if she had to choose between you and me, she would take me."

Poseidon's green eyes blazed suddenly, and the aura of power around him increased. "Do not speak to me like that," he said quietly, his voice scarier than it would have been had he shouted. "I only want what is best for my daughter, and she would have been better off with Leo Valdez instead of you. I know you understand what I'm saying, di Angelo."

Nico stared the irate father in the eyes, not deigning to reply.

The god eyed the boy with a mixture of irritation and admiration. "Zeus wants her dead right now, because she is dating you," he informed him. "You had better take good care of her. If you mess up even once…"

"You'll blast me into a puddle of seawater, blah, blah, blah," Nico muttered, rolling his dark eyes. "If you're done whining, she's waiting for me."

The god's eyes glowed. "Be careful, son of Hades," Poseidon warned. "I am not as quick to anger as Zeus. But you had better watch your tongue, or one of these days someone will lose their patience with you, and you will wish you had never chosen to mess with us. I came here to try and dissuade you from a relationship with her because Aphrodite has foreseen a turbulent future for you both – she will be safer, if not happier, without you. Do you want to risk her safety for your pleasure? Think about it." And he melted away into the crisp morning air.

"Nico? Nico!" Percy jogged up to him. "Was that…"

"Your father," Nico said.

"What did he want? Don't tell me he told you to ditch her." When his friend didn't answer, Percy sighed. "Let him be. We sea-god types are a little protective of our women." He chuckled, seeing Nico crack a small smile.

"She's my woman, not yours," Nico grinned, punching his friend's shoulder playfully. "Go back to Annabeth, I have to go find Lily and my coffee."

They walked back to the tent together, and paused when they heard muffled shouting coming from inside it. Upon entering it, they found Thalia pinning Leo to the ground with her spear shaft pointed at his throat. Jessie was pulling on Thalia's shoulder, screaming obscenities at her, and Leo was struggling while trying to avoid the sharp point near his neck. Annabeth sat in the corner, watching with raised eyebrows.

"Let him up!" Percy bellowed, and Jessie shoved Thalia so roughly that the latter fell over. "Leo, what are you doing here?"

"I thought you guys might need some help," Leo muttered, rubbing his arm, "And I thought fire might be a useful weapon to have with you when you go wherever you're going. So I followed you guys."

"How did you even find us? No, that's not important right now. Nico…" Percy looked at his friend, asking silently for his opinion.

Nico mussed up his hair, closing his eyes. "He's going back to camp with Thalia and Jessie," he decided. "We already have four of us going to the Underworld – I think that's enough."

"Before we go back," Thalia interrupted, "I think we should go to the Underworld one more time. We need to get a better sense of what exactly is going on and what we're going to be up against first."

"I agree," Annabeth added, standing up and walking over. "So Nico, Percy, and Leo, you three figure out how we're going to get there. Thalia and I will contact our backups and camp and keep them on standby. Lily and Jessie…do something."

Five minutes later, Lily and Jessie were sitting at a small table at the nearby Starbucks, blowing on their coffee and talking.

"Hey, there's something I wanted to ask you," Lily said, wrapping her hands around her cup. "Are you and Leo, you know, going out? He was staring at you like he couldn't possibly tear his eyes from you."

Jessie blushed, and Lily whooped. "Shut up," Jessie mumbled. "You're the one getting all mushy with the hottest boy at camp – I saw you two staring lovingly into each other's eyes last night." She giggled and ducked as Lily playfully threw a packet of sugar in her direction.

"Okay, spill," Lily demanded. "When did you guys even hook up? And how come I found out now?"

"It was the day we left," Jessie sighed. "It all happened so fast – I walked into the forge and he was by himself, and you should've seen the coffee machine he built in like three seconds. It was fantastic, and I told him so, and you know he has those dark eyes that seem to be sparkling the whole time with some sort of joke? So I was just looking at him, and all of a sudden he just kissed me!"

"You let him?"

"I was hoping he would! I mean, he's not as hot as your boy toy, but he's cute enough, and he's got a great personality and a talent for invention. He's smart, too, and that's all I'm looking for." Looking around, she edged her chair a little closer to Lily's. "Are you okay with going back to the Underworld?" she asked in a whisper. "I wouldn't want to go back…it was so scary down there."

Lily shrugged. "It's not so bad, and besides, I'll be with Nico. What could go wrong?" Bad question, as it turned out.

**A/N: A THOUSAND APOLOGIES FOR THE PATHETIC LENGTH! BUT I NEEDED TO UPDATE AND SCHOOL HAS BEEN GETTING IN THE WAY! NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE LONGER PROMISE! PLEEEEASE REVIEWWWWW *begs***


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A few hours later, the girls wandered back to the park, searching for the area protected by the Mist where their tent was. Because of the Mist, it was always a little difficult to spot the exact area – it would be moving in and out of focus constantly until you were inside it. But when they got there, they found the rest of their group standing around with their bags shouldered, and the tent packed up.

"What's going on?" Jessie asked, moving to intertwine her fingers with Leo's.

"We're splitting up now," he answered her, squeezing her hand lightly. "You, me, and Thalia are checking out Mount Othrys to see if there's any activity there. The others are going to go back to the Underworld, I guess."

"Let's go," Thalia ordered, raising her arm and allowing a hunting falcon to settle on her wrist. "We've got a plane to catch. I have tickets – you can thank the privileges Artemis gives her Hunters for them."

After quick hugs and goodbyes, the three of them caught a taxi to the airport and soon vanished in the city traffic.

"They'll be okay," Annabeth whispered, watching the taxi disappear. "Where are we going?"

Nico rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I want us to split up for a little while too," he said. "We need to get the water spirits ready to defend camp if they're attacked, and I think Percy should definitely go…maybe even Lily. I'll be heading to a few alleys where monsters tend to pop up – I want to see if I can gauge their numbers or even which types are the most common, so we know which to be prepared to fight. This can't be like the Titan War, so I think we're more in danger from being overwhelmed by their numbers rather than how dangerous they are individually."

"I'm going with Percy," Annabeth said instantly. "Every time we're not together, Seaweed Brain here manages to get into trouble."

"No I don't!" Percy protested. "I just have really bad luck most of the time."

"All of the time," Annabeth giggled. "Remember when you got blown up at Mount St. Helens, or when you were a really cute guinea pig?"

Percy laid his forehead on his girlfriend's. "Yes, but being your boyfriend makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world."

She smiled against him, and moments later they were kissing each other lovingly, oblivious of the fact that Lily and Nico were standing right next to them, their eyebrows raised.

"Let's go," Lily said, tugging on Nico's wrist. There was something wrong about watching her brother kissing – no, passionately making out with – his girlfriend.

Nico let her pull him a bit away, and then smiled predatorily down at her. "You know, I think there's something we still haven't done yet," he breathed into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Nico…" she gasped out as his lips began trailing down from her ear to the joint between her shoulder and neck. Her eyes were closed and she was going weak at the knees, when she heard someone clearing their throat behind them. Nico sighed against her shoulder and raised his head.

"What, Seaweed Brain?" he snapped, and Lily practically jumped away from him, blushing furiously.

"Hands off my sister," Percy growled, dragging Lily towards him and keeping his other arm firmly around Annabeth. "Annabeth and I are going to get moving, all right? Just…you two take it easy, okay?" He hugged his sister tightly and then clapped Nico on the back while the girls said goodbye. "Take care of her, alright, buddy? And stay safe."

"Get going already, Seaweed Brain," Nico chuckled, shoving Percy towards Annabeth. "You guys have money?"

"I'm loaded," Annabeth laughed, waving a bursting wallet in the air. "Bye, guys!" The two of them jogged away, holding hands.

Nico watched Lily waving and smiling at the receding couple, feeling his heart swell with something he couldn't quite define. Her earrings were swaying in the breeze, and he noticed that they were like little balls with spikes sticking out of them. They were red and white in color, with glitter on them, fascinating him.

While waving at her brother and Annabeth, Lily felt a hand brush the back of her cheek, and turned her head slightly to see Nico touching her earring lightly, flicking it gently and bouncing it on his finger. His fingers, barely touching her neck and the back of her jaw, sent tingles and heat through her body. She could feel her cheeks burning, and turned her face away, trying to calm down.

"Come here," he said quietly, gathering her into his arms. "Listen to me," he continued. "We're going to be going to a couple areas that aren't safe at all – not for mortals and not for demigods. And especially because you're a girl, I want you to be careful."

"I can take care of myself," she said, pushing away from his chest but finding herself trapped by his arms. "I'm not a baby!" Lily tried and failed to quell the indignation rising inside her – why did everyone think she was helpless?

"I know you can," he said soothingly, "But I'll feel better if you stay close to me, okay? Just…let me take control for now. I know these places better than you do."

She pushed her face into his shirt, letting him rub circles on her back. "Okay," she sighed, and squealed suddenly as his fingers pushed into a sensitive spot on her back.

"What?" Nico didn't get it, and for that she was grateful.

"Let's go," she said, glancing around.

"Hold tight," he instructed, and smiled when she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her slender fingers digging into his shoulders slightly. Nico concentrated for a moment and then shadow-traveled them both away.

Lily raised her head from his chest and shrank even closer to him, making him tighten his embrace. The alley they were standing in was dark and nearly empty, except for a few figures further down. A dense smoke filled the area, smelling horrible, and the alley exuded a sense of fear and pain.

"You okay?" he asked. "I can take you to Percy if you'd prefer."

"I'm fine," she said, steeling her nerves and pulling away, regretting it the moment his warmth left her. "Just hold my hand." She wrapped her fingers around his hand, and he tightened his grip so much it nearly pained her, but gave her a feeling of security at the same time. Lily smiled to herself – no matter what the situation was, his touch never failed to make sparks jump along her skin and through her bloodstream. Her heartbeat was racing just from his proximity, and she was ready to lose herself in the exciting sensations when he dragged her backwards into the wall.

A man stepped out of the darkness, leering at her. "Hello, princess," he sneered, apparently not noticing Nico. Lily gasped suddenly – the reason he hadn't noticed Nico was because the boy wasn't there. She was alone, and it was terrifying. She backed up into the wall, away from the hands reaching for her. Those crazed eyes bore into her, eyeing her shamelessly, and she had just opened her mouth to scream when the man collapsed, his eyes rolling up into his head.

Nico was standing behind the man, his fist raised and his eyes blazing. "Are you okay?" he asked, pulling her close.

"Where were you?" she nearly shrieked, her voice muffled slightly by his shirt.

"I didn't want to put you in danger by putting you between us," he said. "So I shadow-traveled out so I was behind him and got him from behind." He eyed the man on the ground with disgust. "I didn't want you to come because the places I can frequent safely aren't safe for a girl like you – you're incredibly beautiful, you know, and irresistible." He stroked her cheek and kissed it, letting her blush fade slightly before speaking again. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Taking her hand, he led her down the alley. He glared at anyone who even glanced twice at her, and kept her close behind him. After a few sharp twists and turns, he crept slowly down along the side of a brick wall, crouched in a defensive position. They turned the corner, and she gasped.

An entire group of Cyclopes was climbing out of a manhole in the ground, lumbering around the alley together. They were wielding clubs and maces, cruel weapons that made her shudder.

"There's so many," she breathed, peeping out at them from behind Nico's shoulder.

"Damn it," he grumbled. "No one is used to fighting Cyclopes, and they're really strong. This just goddamn sucks." She whacked the back of his head, and he mumbled an apology for his language.

"Shall we leave?" She glanced around anxiously, not liking their situation. "This place gives me the creeps."

Nico backed up until he was close to her and shadow-traveled them both away. The rush of darkness and wind made her close her eyes, and when she opened them, she found herself looking out over a beautiful expanse of water.

"Where are we? This is beautiful," she breathed, watching the waves rolling in. The air smelled like the sea – salty but refreshing, and beautiful flowers grew on the mountain behind her.

"Coast of Amalfi," Nico answered, his hand resting on her elbow in a sweetly possessive gesture. "I have a safe house on the mountain behind you, and this place is extremely beautiful. I thought you'd like to see it."

"I've always wanted to see the Italian coast," she said, looking at him with sparkling eyes. She hugged him tightly, and tiptoed up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you." Turning to look at the sea again, she smiled and tilted back her head, closing her eyes and letting the breeze play through her hair.

Nico looked around. The sky was beginning to darken with clouds that hadn't been there a moment before. "Zeus really needs to calm down," he muttered angrily. "Lily, we need to get inside. Knowing Zeus, he's going to try spiking us with lightning any minute now."

"What?" She blinked at him in confusion.

"Storm clouds. Bad. Go in now." He grinned when she rolled her eyes and took her hand once again, leading her up a small footpath on the mountain. Placing his hand on an inconspicuous rock, he made it roll to one side, revealing a dark passage going into the mountain.

"Nico…" Lily stepped back, her heart pounding. She was deathly afraid of the dark, and she had mild claustrophobia – somehow she had made it through Orpheus' passage without panicking, but now she was terrified.

"What? We need to hurry, Lily, please. This storm doesn't look pleasant."

"My father's Poseidon!" she shrieked, and he stared at her uncomprehendingly. "The sea – it doesn't like being confined! I'm claustrophobic and I'm scared of the dark," she mumbled, fixing her gaze on the ground.

Nico swore colorfully as the first drops of rain began to fall. Shocked at his sudden anger and his coarse language, Lily tore her hand from his grasp.

"What are you doing?" he yelled.

"Stay away from me," she shrieked, tears sliding down her cheeks. She wasn't quite sure why she'd reacted so badly – it was something to do with how he seemed unable to handle her fears and wanted her to simply obey his every command. Dodging as he tried to grab her, she flew down the pathway and ran down the street, searching for somewhere to hide.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and the rain fell with enough intensity to pain her as they landed on her skin. Her thin shirt was soaked through, and her hair was plastered to her face. Slipping on the wet pavement, she fell, scraping her knee. Blood slid down her leg, and she collapsed after a single attempt to stand, nearly sobbing with the pain of both her wound and the rain. Zeus must really be angry, she thought bitterly, trying desperately to push herself upwards.

Suddenly remembering Nico, she searched frantically for him through the rain with her eyes, hoping he was there. He was the only way she would be able to get out of the rain now – without him, she doubted she could even stand. But no one approached her, and she began to cry in earnest, terrified and in pain.

"Hey, what's wrong, sweetheart?" a voice said. A teenager with tattoos and a diamond earring walked up to her, apparently enjoying the rain. "Come here, I'll help you." He leered at her, and grasped her upper arm firmly, dragging her up from the ground.

"Let go of me!" she shouted, hitting him in the face with all her strength and twisting away, breaking his grip on her. Remembering what Jessie had told her about these situations, she kneed him in his weakest spot and tried to run, but barely made it a few steps away before her knee gave out underneath her and she hit the pavement again. Her sword, which she had slipped into her boot, bumped into her leg, but the Celestial bronze was useless against mortals – and she was positive this teenager was a mortal. She was helpless, and she hated it.

"Bad idea, cupcake," he snarled, pulling a knife from underneath his shirt. Lily felt her heard pounding – she screamed, but he covered her mouth instantly, muffling his desperate cries. Tears leaked from her eyes, but he ignored them, eyeing her lustfully and placing the blade against her slender neck.

Lily froze suddenly – there was someone emerging quickly from the rain behind the boy holding her. That strong but slender physique was incredibly familiar…Nico! Her eyes widened, and moments later the teenager attacking her was collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

**A/N: What did you think? REVIEWWW MY LOVELIES! Did you like my quick update? Hehehe my muse came back *smiles***


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Without waiting for an answer, Nico shadow-traveled them both away and deposited her on a couch when they arrived. He stormed away, and Lily observed the new setting. She was on a soft, plushy red couch in a room which appeared to be made of a black, smooth stone – probably obsidian, she decided. Various weapons hung from hooks on one wall, and a large cabinet stood against another. An intricately decorated fireplace warmed the room, and a picture of Hades and Nico stood on the mantelpiece, next to one of Nico with his sister and Hades with a beautiful woman who so resembled Nico and Bianca that she must have been their mother. There was more furniture in the room – a couple of chairs, a rug, and so on. She shifted, raising her leg, and gasped in pain as the newly formed scab on her knee broke, releasing waves of agony. Something warm trickled down her leg, and she bit her lip, knowing it was blood.

"Drink this," Nico ordered, placing his hand on her back and tilting her chin up. He placed a small cup against her lips and waited until she finished the draught. "Better? You look ready to pass out."

"Yeah. What was it?" She really did feel better – the pain had subsided and her head cleared.

"Nectar," he replied, going over to the cabinet and looking through it. "Official drink of the gods. Don't have too much of it, though. It'll burn you up if you overdose." He pulled out some bandages and a small tube and came back over.

"Lean back," he said, and sighed when her eyes widened. "Just relax – this is going to hurt a bit, and I don't need you to tense up more than you have to."

Even though he was upset with her for running away from him and yelling as if he was mistreating her, the sight of her in pain was still enough to tear his heart into pieces. Nico sighed inwardly – he was getting in deeper than he should, but he couldn't help it. She was addicting for him, and he was beginning to realize that his feelings for her had greater depth than he'd first thought.

Closing her large eyes, Lily leaned back until her spine was resting against a pillow he had propped up against the arm of the couch. "I'm sorry I ran off like that," she said quietly. "I just…lost it, you know? I really am sorry."

Nico observed her as she kept her eyes closed – the small but cute nose, long lashes on beautiful eyes, pink lips that he desperately wanted to kiss, and smooth skin all drove him crazy. "It's okay," he mumbled. "But don't do it again. If I'm being controlling, it's because I know how to deal with the situation much better than you do. If you can't trust me, then I just don't know how to make this work. I really am trying to keep you safe and do what's best for you, but you seem to believe me incapable of that."

"No, I don't!" She opened her eyes, looking at him. Her heart broke a little at the pain in his eyes, which he was doing his best to hide. "I really care about you," she said, choking a little on tears of both physical and emotional pain, "But I find it hard to trust people, especially boyfriends, because a lot of my friends had some really difficult relationships. I want us to work – I want there to be an us. And I want to trust you. It's just hard for me – but I am trying!"

Searching her eyes, Nico decided she was telling him the truth. "Well, as long as you try, and I do too, we'll be okay," he whispered, and kissed her soft cheek gently. With his hand, he smoothed away her tears from her cheeks and kissed the bridge of her nose. "Now lean back again and let me deal with your knee. Hold it still, okay?"

He spread some of the paste in the tube on the bandage and wrapped it around her knee after rolling up her jeans so the wound was exposed. He did it quickly, knowing from experience that dragging it out would make the pain worse. "All done," he said, inwardly proud of her for not letting a single whimper of pain escape her lips. "Want me to show you around?"

"Yes," she said instantly, hooking her arms around his neck and standing up shakily. "I want to see your room first."

He smirked at her, and she hit his arm lightly. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Whatever you say, Princess," he replied, guiding her into the hallway. She blushed prettily, and suddenly he felt her lips on his cheek. "Yeah?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"Nothing," she murmured, looking away. "Nico?"

"Yeah, Princess?"

"What's that?"

He turned, and saw a shimmering rainbow beginning to form at the end of the hallway. "Damn," he whispered. "Who is it?"

Moments later, Percy's face appear in the shimmering rainbow, and he sighed in relief, pulling Lily down the hall so quickly that she yelped. "Sorry," he said, lifting her bridal style and moving towards the image. She wound her arms around his neck, loving the way his biceps flexed when he held her, rubbing her cheek innocently against the slight stubble on his face. Lily smiled at the blush that rose through his cheeks, and wished suddenly that Percy wasn't watching.

"Hey, Percy," Nico said, trying to ignore the way the girl was making his heart race in his chest. He wished she'd stop moving against his body – she was driving him insane.

"Nico," Percy acknowledged. "Lily – what happened to you?"

"Long story," she said. "But I'll be okay. What's up?"

"Just wanted to see how you guys are." Percy's eyes wandered, and he raised his eyebrows. "You guys are in Italy?"

"It's so beautiful here," Lily gushed. "Have you seen the sea? It's gorgeous. Even the rain smells…" she trailed off, her eyes clouded.

Nico wrapped his arms around her protectively, kissing her hair. "I thought she'd like to see it," he told Percy.

"I'd love to go back there!" Percy yelled, knowing better than to probe about Lily's current condition. He'd give Nico hell for it later, though. "But no, instead me and Annabeth get to be sitting around in New York bored out of our minds."

"I doubt you two are bored out of your minds," Nico snickered.

Right on cue, Annabeth poked her head into the viewing window. "Hey guys! We have to go, sorry, it's starting to rain out here. Bye, see you!" The line fizzled out.

Lily unwound her arms from Nico's chest and sank to the floor, her head resting on her knees. Worried, he sat next to her and pulled her close.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.

There was a long pause, in which she traced a tear on the knee of his jeans with a finger, sending tingles through his body.

"I was so scared," she whispered finally. "I just – first I was mad at you, and then I realized that you were my only chance of actually getting out of the situation, and when you didn't come I panicked, and I thought he was going to – going to –" She sniffled and then began to cry against his shoulder, hating her weakness but unable to help herself.

"I did run after you," he said, "But you managed to lose me. I couldn't find you until I heard your scream, and then I came as quickly as I could. I'm so sorry." He rubbed her back and stroked her hair, trying to calm her down.

"You should get some sleep," he advised, as her whimpers died away. "Come on." Pulling her up, he guided her into a room. "I'll see you later," he said, and stepped away, seeing her eyes closing involuntarily.

Going back into his room, he found another Iris-message waiting for him, this one containing a very angry Percy.

"Spit it out, Nico," Percy growled. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing, Percy," Nico said, sitting on his bed and slipping out of his shirt.

"Nico, I mean it!" The son of Poseidon was getting progressively angrier and angrier. "She looked so scared and broken – and could she barely walk? What was going on? If you hurt her, I swear to Poseidon that I will –"

"Shut up, Percy!" Nico was on his feet. "I didn't do anything – except rescuing her from a rapist! And if she hadn't lost her temper and run off on me in the first place, she wouldn't have gotten hurt! I'm sick and tired of everyone thinking I'm the one to blame."

"Why did she run? Did you say something?"

Nico turned to glare at the Iris-message, and Percy's bravado wilted somewhat. "I told her to get inside because a huge Zeus-induced storm was headed our way." He saw Percy opening his mouth again, and lost his temper. "I'll see you later, Percy." Slashing a hand through the rainbow, he caused it to dissolve, and fell back on the bed, closing his eyes.

A few hours later, he woke up. There was a light green haze around the ceiling of his bedroom. "Coming," he grumbled, dragging a different shirt over his head and standing up. "I'll be there in ten!" The haze vanished.

Lily was sitting in the living room, flipping through a copy of the _Odyssey_. "Hi," she greeted him, standing lightly.

"How's your leg?"

"Much better."

"We need to leave – my dad's back. At least for a while. And he wants to talk."

She backed away slightly. "Your dad…Nico, are you sure? He probably doesn't want to see me."

"I'm positive. He won't hurt you – I swear it on the River Styx." Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she searched his eyes, looking for and finding the care and honesty she needed.

"Okay," she said, closing her eyes and holding his arm. He shadow-traveled them away, and she nearly stumbled when they arrived.

"Careful." Nico steadied her by hooking an arm around her waist, and held her close as he looked up. "Hello, Father."

Hades stood up from his throne, his dark robes billowing around him. His pale but dangerously handsome face smiled a little as he moved closer. "Hello, Nico. I'm glad you came." His dark eyes fixed themselves upon Lily, and a nearly invisible smirk played over his mouth as she shrank into his son's chest. He inclined his head towards her, and looked over his shoulder.

Heels tapped against the obsidian floor, and moments later a beautiful goddess with flowing golden hair and bright blue eyes entered. "Ah, Lily! It's nice to finally meet you – Olympus is quite astir because of you and that boy." She completely ignored Nico, sweeping the girl into an embrace. "Since my husband wants some time alone with him, how about I show you around a little? Come on."

Lily hurried after the goddess, casting a quick glance at Nico before turning the corner.

"Let me show you my room first," Persephone decided. "I want to talk to you too. Here we go." She placed her hand against an ornate marble door, the ruby ring on the ring finger of her left hand sparkling as she did so. The door slid aside, and the two entered.

The room was filled with flowers everywhere – and most of the furniture was either pink or white. It was very plushy and comfortable, and a magnificent four-poster bed with drapes around it stood in the center of the room.

"Sit here," Persephone said, motioning to a pink pouf on the floor. She seated herself on another pouf, much to the surprise and amusement of Lily, who had never imagined a goddess on such furniture, and began the conversation. "So, are you scared of being here? You can be honest – I was a newcomer here once too, you know."

Lily breathed in the smell of flowers and felt herself relaxing. "I was, just because I didn't really know what to expect and Hades…has a bit of a reputation."

Persephone laughed, her eyes smiling with her. "He's not that bad, unless he's very angry. And I did what I could to brighten this place up – and I must say it's improved quite a bit."

Lily agreed, taking in the colorful draperies and jeweled decorations on the walls. "It's very colorful," she said, trying to figure the goddess out.

"So tell me, Lily – one of my favorite flowers, by the way – how do you feel about his son? I know he's very good looking, and powerful, but do you really love him?"

Instantly wary, Lily moistened her lips briefly before replying. "He's a sweet guy," she said evasively. "I like him."

"You need to be sure," Persephone warned. "My husband is against your relationship – he will not hurt you, but he doesn't approve. Be decided on what you desire and need from your relationship with Nico before Hades attempts to break you two apart."

Lily squared her jaw. "He has no right to interfere," she snapped.

"Your father already did," Persephone returned. "He tried to get Nico to stay away from you, but Nico knew he wanted to be with you. Do you feel the same way about him? Because if not, you two have no chance. Hades is an expert at finding weaknesses and exploiting them, and rest assured he will find yours."

"Why are you telling me? And can't you get him to back off?"

"I'm trying to, but he's stubborn. And I think it's better if you're prepared for anything he attempts – that way, you'll be less susceptible. Aphrodite supports you two, and she's an excellent friend of mine. So I thought I'd let you know. Just tell Nico, will you? He'll take care of you – even if he makes an excellent dandelion."

Persephone smiled, and Lily burst into giggles at the thought of Nico being turned into a dandelion. Soon she and the goddess were laughing and sharing stories like old friends, unaware of the serious conversation taking place in the throne room of the Underworld.

**A/N: And an update! Please please review for me, darlings, I really do appreciate it. If I don't reply to your review, it's because I'm busy, but I DO READ THEM AND I DO APPRECIATE IT! Please voice your feedback/comments, and see you next chapter! Thanks to everyone who subscribed or favorited!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone for the incredible amount of support I got for the last couple chapters. I realized today that we've nearly made 70 reviews – that's phenomenal! Thank you everyone for all the encouragement and I wrote this chapter especially for everyone who reviewed. Enjoy!**

Chapter 17

"Are you sure, Nico?" Hades stormed around the room, ignoring the way his son rolled his eyes when he thought his father wasn't looking.  
>"Yes, Father, I'm sure," Nico repeated, for what seemed the thousandth time.<p>

"Apart from all the problems the two of you are going to cause yourselves, you don't care that you may well cause another war between the gods?"

Nico scoffed, unimpressed. "Father, the gods may make bad decisions on practically everything, but they know better than to fight over one couple."

"No, they don't!" Hades returned angrily. "They're already taking sides – it's Zeus versus Poseidon and me, and he's trying to force the others to choose. He wants the two of you either broken up or killed, and you may be too pigheaded to accept it, but it's true. The both of you may well end up starting World War Three. You had better watch your girlfriend closely, or she may end up dead."

The boy paled. "He wouldn't."

"Go now, Nico. Get her back to camp – I will see what I can do to stop more monsters from leaving. However, you will have to face the threat to the camp and yourselves on your own – and Zeus will not make the return trip easy for you. I can't let you shadow-travel for at least a couple days, because I need the darkness to stay as stable as possible while I try to shut the monsters down in Tartarus."

"So how do we get back?"

"Figure it out," Hades said curtly. "And get that girl of yours to help." He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving no doubt in his son's mind that Hades was displeased.

Nico rubbed his head with his hand, trying to quell the overly protective feelings he was having for Lily. The previous night, he'd spent his whole time dreaming about her, and he was pretty sure that he couldn't deny it any longer. He was in love with that beautiful, innocent girl who found excitement in every little thing, and who found the beauty in him even when he had lost the ability to see it in himself. And the idea of someone trying to hurt her…It drove him crazy, but she was independent enough not to want him breathing down her neck the whole time.

"You," Persephone said from behind him, causing him to turn. "She's waiting for you in my gardens. Hades told me you two need to leave."

Nico nodded his thanks and walked out the door, stepping out into the gardens. He allowed himself a moment to appreciate the beautiful flowers and fruits, remembering the times he'd tasted the pomegranates and been assaulted by the delicious flavors they contained. Being a son of Hades, he was already bound to the Underworld, and therefore was immune to any negative side effects of eating the fruit. Seeing a head of dark wavy hair a bit in front of him, he made his way through the garden to find Lily, and froze in place when he saw her.

Lily was standing with her back to him, examining a small pond of lilies made of several different jewels. She was wearing tights with a small shiny skirt that ended mid-thigh and knee-high leather boots with a small heel that were both stylish and appeared comfortable. He made a slight sound and she turned, captivating him again. Her shirt was a red V-neck that exposed just enough to make him curious without making her uncomfortable, and her loose hair still managed to give him a wonderful view of her swan-like neck. Her eyes met his, and he felt his heartbeat quicken as she glanced down at herself, blushing.

Eyeing Nico nervously, Lily felt the blood creep up her neck and cheeks at the way he was staring at her. His eyes were slightly widened, and she remembered the surprised and entranced look he'd had on his face as her blush worsened. A pair of shoes besides her own – these a pair of black converse with a bit of orange on them – entered her field of vision, and she looked up to see Nico standing right in front of her, his dark eyes smoldering.

Before she knew what was happening, he was pulling her towards him, leaning closer. She was deliciously aware of his hand on her hip – she could feel his strong fingers and hand through her thin shirt. His other hand was winding itself into her hair, and his face was so close that her heart nearly stopped. Lily had never kissed a boy before, but somehow her instincts took over, and her eyes fluttered shut, her trembling eyelashes driving Nico over the edge, although she was unaware of it.

His lips crashed onto hers with an intensity that she had come to associate innately with him, yet he was still gentle with her. Lily allowed him to take control but continued to move her lips with his, enjoying their passionate dance. She wound her arms around his neck, and his hand slipped onto her midriff, which was exposed as her shirt rode up. Nearly moaning as he caressed her side, she felt him increasing the passion in their already heated kiss, and began to feel lightheaded as fireworks exploded behind her closed lids. He was bending her backwards, supporting her body with one hand and stroking her hair with the other, and nothing but the overwhelming need for air could have made her break the kiss.

Her chest heaved as she gulped oxygen in, still staying incredibly close to Nico. His hand still rested on her hip, now slightly below the hem of her shirt so that he was still touching her skin. Lily laid her head on his shoulder, loving the way his muscles rippled beneath his shirt at the slightest movement.

For a few moments they stood in silence, wrapped in each other's arms, and then Nico spoke, his mouth close to her ear. "You look more beautiful than Aphrodite," he whispered, kissing her neck.

"Thank you, and shouldn't we….…mmmm." She moaned softly as he began sucking at the juncture between her neck and shoulder, a spot that was apparently far more sensitive than she'd realized. When he finally raised his head, he smiled at her dazed look and starry eyes.

"We should leave," he murmured, kissing her nose and then pecking her lips softly. He leaned back when she tried to kiss him again, chuckling. "That's punishment for not opening your mouth when we kissed earlier," he whispered, taking her hand and pulling her through the garden behind him.

They walked together for nearly half an hour, barely speaking. Lily had never seen the Underworld properly before, and she was taking in the "scenery" with wide eyes. Fires burned in the Fields of Punishment, from which the screams of the damned could be heard. She'd gripped Nico's hand tightly, burrowing gratefully into his side when he'd wrapped his arm around her.

Nico had his sword drawn, eyeing the shadows suspiciously and keeping his girlfriend as close to him as she could. Lily had been annoyed by his protective behavior for the first five minutes after they'd left Persephone's garden, and then she'd given in and decided to enjoy the feeling of his arm around her waist. She traced the cords in his arms as they walked, fascinated by the way his veins popped naturally from his skin. It made him seem more masculine and physically stronger, something she loved.

As they moved through the Underworld, she found herself reflecting on the heart-stopping kiss they'd shared earlier. His mere gaze could send her heartbeat through the roof, and now the memory of his lips on hers would haunt her dreams. She found herself wishing for a repeat performance and blushed, thankful that he hadn't noticed. Making a mental note to thank Persephone for the outfit, she glanced back one last time at the now tiny outline of Hades' palace, pitying Persephone somewhat for having to live in such a dark world.

Finally they passed the Judgment Pavilion, and Lily stopped moving at the sight of thousands of ghosts waiting in lines.

"Come on," Nico said quietly, tugging her along. "This is normal – don't worry. You're with me; you'll be fine."

A few minutes later, she squeaked in surprise as Cerberus loomed up out of the darkness, growling and showing his teeth. Her sword felt pathetically tiny next to the beast's long fangs.

"Back up," Nico ordered, moving past the dog. "Hey, Cerb!" He pulled a ball out of his pocket and threw it, waiting for the dog to bring it back before repeating the action. "He likes to play," Nico explained. "He gets lonely. Percy told me about him and I try to give him some company once in a while. You wanna try?"

Lily took the ball from him and threw it, realizing as she did so that the three-headed dog wasn't nearly as terrifying as he appeared. When her arm got tired from throwing the ball so hard, she patted his immense snout before Nico led her away, promising the dog that he would return soon.

"That's really sweet of you," Lily told him as they stood on the shore of the River Styx. Nico smiled at her, hugging her briefly before moving to the edge of the water.

"Stand back," he advised. He began to chant in Ancient Greek, and moments later, a boat rose up out of the water, sending a spray up into the air. Nico hissed in pain as the droplets burned his skin, but continued to chant until the boat neared the shore.

"Are you okay?" Lily grasped his arm in her hands and stroked the burned skin lightly, trying to soothe the irritated redness.

"I'm used to burns," he said, a half-smile tugging at his lips. "I've burned the fingerprints off my index finger while playing bass." He showed her his finger, which really did have little burns on it. Moments later, Nico sucked in his breath as Lily carefully kissed the burns on his finger and then smiled at him angelically.

"Better?" she asked.

"Get in the boat," he answered roughly. She looked hurt, and he picked her up suddenly as she was making her way past him. "Don't do that again for a while, or we may end up never leaving here." He smirked as she blushed, and carried her into the boat.

It moved away from the shore and began to carry them downstream. "I can control the waters of the Styx somewhat," Nico said, "So I'm going to take us to the entrance to the Underworld. We'll be in LA then, and we'll have to figure out how to get back to camp as quickly as possible."

"We could catch a plane from LAX," she suggested, sitting on the floor of the boat with her legs folded demurely to one side.

"No good," he said, shaking his head. "Zeus will fry us if we even try to catch a ride from his domain. My dad won't let me shadow-travel for a while – he wants the darkness to stay stable until he traps the monsters in Tartarus."

"We could try hippocampi or something," Lily mumbled, "But I'd feel bad summoning them into such polluted water." Her eyes brightened suddenly. "I have an idea. All we'll need to do is get a cab."

"What are we going to do?"

"You'll see," she said, smiling impishly. She tossed her hair to the side, and shrieked suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Nico was instantly at her side.

Lily pointed indignantly at her shoulder, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. "You gave me a hickey!"

Leaning close enough to make her feel a little shy, Nico smirked. There was a small but definite hickey on her shoulder. "Want me to make it darker?"

She squealed and pounded his chest lightly with her palm as he dropped his lips onto the base of her neck again. "Stop it!"

Nico stood, chuckling, and moved to the stern of the boat. "We'll be there in a moment," he announced. "Get ready to get off."

"Fine," she muttered. "And tell me how I'm going to explain this to Percy," she grumbled, rubbing the hickey lightly, partly to try to erase the feel of his lips on her skin.

"Wear your hair down for a while," he suggested, helping her out of the boat and leading the way into an antechamber. "Welcome to LA."

**A/N: And there is Chapter 17. WOW we've nearly reached 20 chapters! Please R&R! All your reviews make me feel more motivated to write – I worked hard to crank this chapter out as soon as I could because so many of you were asking for an update. And tell me what you think of their relationship's progress – is it too sudden? Or is it still flowing? LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL! IMAGINARY DOUGHNUTS ALL AROUND AND SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER!**

**Cockapoo xxx**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So, at the time when I'm writing this, my story currently has 89 reviews! I'm SO EXCITED about that! I really want to thank everyone who reviewed and those who have constantly encouraged and supported me. All of you mean the world to me. **

Chapter 18

Lily pulled a drachma from the little black purse she was carrying, glad that Persephone had decided to gift her some "emergency supplies" as well. Tossing it into the street, she shouted, "Stêthi, Ô hárma diabolês!" (**A/N:****Translates****to**** "****Stop,****Chariot****of****Damnation!****" ****in****Ancient****Greek)**.

Out of the ground a smoky taxi arose, and they could make out three figures squished into the front.

"Get in!" A hag stuck her head out of the window, motioning to the back seat. She had one eye in her forehead, and her mouth was toothless.

Nico rolled his eyes and got in first, leaning forward on the seat as black chains wrapped themselves around his waist like seatbelts. "Hey, son of Hades of here," he announced. "If any of you three DARE to argue about who gets the eye and tooth, I will send you on a one-way trip to meet my father. Understood?"

The hags nodded mutely, and Lily glared at her boyfriend, not liking his manipulative attitude but remembering Percy's horrendous tale of his ride in the taxi and deciding to stay silent.

"Take us to Camp Half-Blood," Nico ordered, leaning back. "And make it snappy. We're in a rush."

Minutes later, the cab swerved to a halt in front of Half-Blood Hill. The ride had still been dangerous – Tempest, who had the eye, still drove like a maniac – but the sisters had refrained from fighting, cowed by Nico's threat.

"Thank you," Lily said as she slid out of the car, followed by Nico. The moment the taxi vanished, she rounded on him. "There was no need to be so rude to them! What were you even thinking? You could've just asked them not to fight."

"Like they would've listened," he muttered.

Lily opened her mouth to argue, and gasped instead. "Nico – there's smoke coming from camp!"

They ran up the hill and down the other side of it to see Percy summoning water to douse the flames licking at the Big House. Will Solace was tending to Clarisse, who was sitting on the ground with her right arm bent at an odd angle, and his cabinmates were trying to heal several injuries that other campers, including Annabeth, Leo, and Jessie, were sporting.

"What happened?" Lily hugged Jessie and then Annabeth, while Nico moved towards Percy.

"There's a drakon in the woods," Annabeth said, her eyes darkening. "It came out last night and set the Big House on fire – Percy and I just got here and he's trying to put out the flames. Clarisse and some of us tried to hunt it down, but neither we nor it ended up seriously hurt." She dabbed at the blood trickling from a scrape on her cheek, wincing slightly.

Jessie twisted the hem of her sweatshirt in her hands, biting her lip. "Percy wanted to take Nico with him and go and take it down, so we were waiting for you two. How bad is the situation down there?" She lowered her voice, and Annabeth leaned in.

"Hades will take care of it," Lily whispered back. "He's trying to get things locked down now, but hordes have already escaped. Nico knows all the details – we'll get him to spill them later. Even I don't know them yet."

"I'm FINE, now let me up!" Clarisse shouted from behind them, shoving Will away.

"You will stay where you are," he bellowed back, raising a bottle of nectar in his hand as if threatening her with it.

"Clarisse, sit down already," Jessie groaned, running over to help her brother subdue the angry girl. "He needs a few more minutes to make sure everything is going to heal okay, so stay still. And if you even try to get up, I will curse you to speak in poetry. Will taught me how." She smirked, remembering the good memories when she'd done it to Leo the other day. She'd made sure it had worn off in a few hours, but boy had it been fun.

Grumbling some nasty swear words, Clarisse allowed Will to check the cast on her arm while Jessie moved over to wrap bandages around Leo's arm, which was bleeding. He smiled at her so sweetly that Lily felt a surge of happiness for her best friend.

"Excuse me?" Someone tapped Lily on her shoulder, and she turned around to see an extremely good-looking boy standing behind her. "Are you Lily?"

"Yeah," she replied, "Do I know you?"

He chuckled and held out a hand for her to shake. "Nah, but I'm Chase. Son of Hermes, at your service."

She laughed and shook his hand. "Did you need something?"

"Chiron wanted me to show you something that was delivered to our cabin with your name on it. It's a bit big, so you should come with me." He smiled at her and walked away, indicating that she should follow.

Lily walked next to him, glancing at Nico and noticing that he and Percy were having an intense discussion about something. She then turned her attention to the boy next to her, and admitted to herself that he was pretty darn gorgeous. He had sandy hair and brown eyes, dimples and a white smile, and a build both different and similar to Nico's. While Nico was somehow twiggy yet muscular, Chase was an obvious bodybuilder. She liked his looks, but he couldn't hold a candle to Nico, in her opinion.

"Here," he said, interrupting her thoughts and directing her attention to the back of the Hermes cabin.

A rather large box was waiting on the ground with her name printed on it. Kneeling down, she examined the copious amounts of tape used to secure the package and frowned.

"Do you have scissors?" She turned to Chase.

He shouted something through one of the open windows of the cabin, and caught the pair of scissors that came flying out the window. "Here you go."

She mumbled a thank-you and cut the packaging on the box, which began to shake slightly in her hands as the tape was loosened.

"What the hell," she muttered, ripping open the cardboard. A gale force of wind engulfed her suddenly, raising her into the air as if she were a rag doll.

"LILY!" Chase shouted her name, watching in horror from the ground. The wind ripped her through the air and suddenly dashed her several times against the wall of the cabin. The girl was screaming something, which he suddenly recognized as obscenities cursing Zeus.

"What is going on?" Nico di Angelo, whose attention had been caught by the screams, ran up just in time to catch Lily as she fell after being thrown into the wall of the Hermes cabin again. "What did you do, Chase?"

"Is she okay?" Jessie ran up, her heart nearly stopping when she got a good look at her friend. The daughter of Poseidon had bleeding cuts all over her body, and her entire outfit was stained red. Her skin was bruised and she was unconscious.

"I'm taking her to Chiron," Nico muttered, staring at her before vanishing into the barely-there shadows.

"Okay, pretty boy," Jessie hissed, drawing a knife and pressing it to an unsuspecting Chase's neck, "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything!" He tried to push her away and gulped as she pressed the blade closer.

"Jessie, back off," Annabeth sighed, pulling the angry girl away from the boy. "Percy ran back, but he said Chase probably had no hand in what happened. Let him go."

Snarling, Jessie backed away from an equally angry Chase.

"I'm telling you I wasn't involved!" he yelled. "She opened a box that came for her with her name on it, and this wind just sort of caught her up and banged her against the cabin like six or seven times."

Annabeth muttered something rude in Ancient Greek that involved Zeus eating his pants. "Well, it's pretty obvious who our top suspect is," she said, "And that is not going to help things up on Olympus, which are apparently pretty tense already. Jessie, will you go and tell Nico and Percy what happened? See if they know anything. I want to check the box out a little first."

Jessie nodded and skedaddled towards Cabin Three, where she was pretty sure they would've gone. Sure enough, when she entered, Lily was already conscious and telling Chiron, Percy, and Nico what had happened.

"Ah, Jessie," Chiron said, getting up. "If you're here, I'll leave now – just check her over medically and see if you can improve on what I did for her." He left.

"Annabeth thinks Zeus did it," Jessie announced, sitting down next to Lily on the bed and frowning as she examined a large purpling bruise on the other girl's cheek. "And you really look like you've come back from the dead right now."

Lily laughed. "Yeah, Nico could probably have helped with that. And it could be a lot worse – I only broke two ribs instead of like four."

Percy rolled his eyes. "And that is bad enough. So you are going to stay here until I tell you you can leave, okay? And the painkillers are with me – let me know if you need more than what we've already given you. Just don't overdose. I have to go see what Annabeth is doing – Jessie, will you stay with her? Nico, I think you should come with me. We need to finish discussing…things."

Nodding, Nico stood, kissing his girlfriend quickly on the cheek, not sure how Percy would react if he gave her a real kiss. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Take care of yourself, okay?" Raising his voice slightly, he turned to Jessie. "If she even tries to get up, tie her down, okay?"

The boys left, and Jessie turned to her friend. "Okay, daughter of Apollo in charge here. Where are you hurt? I'll see if I can help a bit."

"Chiron put something on the bruise here," Lily gingerly touched her cheek, "But I think there's something wrong with my neck. I can't really move it properly, and I forgot to tell Chiron when I got up."

Jessie hopped up. "Lemme just see what Percy keeps in his medicine cabinet, okay?" She opened it, and her eyes widened. "I'm going to assume this is Annabeth telling him what to do, because he's got everything I would ever possibly need. This is cool." She loaded her arms with bandages, gauze, ointments and a bag of ambrosia squares and sat back down.

"Which side of your neck is bothering you?"

"The right side," Lily answered, reaching up and wincing as the cut on her shoulder throbbed.

"Stay still, you invalid," Jessie scolded jokingly, and moved her friend's hair aside to get a better look at the offending neck. "Wow."

"Is it bad?" Lily asked, worried.

"Oh yeah," Jessie giggled, "Now you have to tell me when, where, and how exactly you have a hickey on your neck. And besides that, I think it's probably just sore – there's no blood or wound. Just rotate it a little once every five minutes or so. And eat ambrosia." She shoved a piece of ambrosia at Lily and sat back. "So, what happened? A love bite already?" She giggled again.

"Shut up," Lily mumbled, blushing redder than Jessie's hair.

"Come on," Jessie groaned. "I'm your best friend, you are obligated to tell me! I bet there's some kind of law out there that says you have to tell me!"

"Tell you what?" Percy walked in, raising his eyebrows.

Lily wilted internally, tossing her head slightly in an effort to hide the love bite on her neck. Because the pain in her neck limited her movements, all the head toss really did was call Percy's attention to her neck – and then the small purple mark on it.

"Lily! Is that…is that a hickey?" Percy moved closer, and Jessie closed her eyes, waiting for the storm to burst. "Did Nico give you that?"

"Percy, it's really none of your business," Lily sighed, hoping he would take the bait and leave. He didn't.

"Yes it is! He's messing around with my little sister! And why did you let him? What else did you two do?"

"We didn't do anything!" Lily was shocked at what Percy was implying. "Do you really think I would let him do anything I'm not comfortable with?"

"I don't know! But I don't want to find out later from someone else!" He was pretty angry, and Lily was beginning to worry about what he would do to Nico. "Jessie, make sure she stays here. I have to go have a word with Nico." And he stormed out, leaving the girls to give each other shocked looks.

**A/N:****Sorry****about****the****wait,****but****school****is****getting****very****busy!****Please****R&R!****Thanks****for****reading!****And****I****know****it****was****kind****of****a****bunch****of****fluff,****but****I****'****ll****be****getting****more****things****soon!****Promise****:-)**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Nico was glaring at the floor of his cabin. His father had even warned him to keep a closer eye on her, and he'd let her run off with Chase. And how did Chase not have the brains to realize something was wrong when the box was practically encapsulated in tape? He snorted to himself. That son of Hermes had fewer brains than a peanut.

He looked up as the door burst in, and raised an eyebrow when a furious Percy barged in.

"What were you and Lily doing in the Underworld together, Nico?" Percy grabbed the younger boy by the collar of his shirt and slammed Nico's skinny frame against the wall. "There's a goddamn _hickey_on her neck, Nico, and I know it was you."

Nico took a moment to get his breath back, cursing the way Percy's build was more solid than his own. "Relax, man, we didn't do anything wrong –"

Percy punched the wall behind Nico's head, bruising his knuckles. "Yeah, you didn't. What else were you doing with her that she has a love bite? I trusted you with her, and you went and –"

"I didn't do anything!" Nico roared, pushing Percy off of him and stepping away from the wall, crouching into a slightly defensive position, ready to spar at a moment's notice. "All I did was kiss her! You can stop acting like I'm going to ruin her life every other minute, because I'm not. And I saw that mark on Annabeth's neck a couple months ago, but I'm pretty sure Malcolm didn't try to beat you up like a caveman."

Percy reddened a little and sighed. "Okay, I apologize," he grumbled. "But you can't blame me for worrying about her."

"I'd probably have done the same for Bianca," Nico muttered, scuffing his shoe against the floor. "So it's alright, I guess. But quit jumping down my throat, okay? I really don't like it, and if I lose my temper one of these days…"

"I get it," Percy said. "Shall we go pay Chase a visit?" He noticed how Nico's eyes narrowed slightly at the other boy's name, and laughed inwardly. This was going to be fun.

"Yeah, let's go."

Meanwhile, Lily had another unexpected visitor – Chase. He'd walked in and Jessie had left almost immediately after to go use the restroom, and probably visit Leo too (although she'd never admit it).

"Hi Chase," Lily said, leaning back against the pillows. The painkillers were beginning to wear off, and she was now painfully conscious of a throbbing in her side.

"How are you?" He sat down on the bed, looking at her with concern.

"Okay," she said. "Do you need something?"

"I just wanted to apologize," he sighed. "We should probably have looked into it more carefully, but since Dad delivered it we figured it was okay to give to you."

"It's fine," she smiled, wincing as pain shot through her side.

"I'll get Percy," he said, standing up as her mouth twisted with pain. Lily nodded, and he had barely reached the door when it opened.

"What are you doing here?" Nico snapped, shoving him aside and walking quickly towards Lily. "How –" He broke off as a horn sounded from outside.

Chase sprinted to the door and when he turned around, his eyes were filled with alarm. "Clarisse is blowing her horn," he said. "Something's happened. We should go." He practically ran from the cabin, eager to be as far away from the angry son of Hades as possible.

"I'll go," Percy said, noticing Nico's indecision. "You can stay with her."

Moments later the two of them were alone.

"How are you feeling?" Nico asked, sitting on the bed near her knees.

"Okay," she answered tiredly. "I think the painkillers are wearing off a little though."

"When it really starts to hurt, I'll give you another," he said, picking at a worn spot on his jeans. "What was Chase doing here?"

"He just came to apologize. He's a nice guy, you know? You shouldn't have gotten so angry with him for no reason."

"I wasn't angry."

"Yes, you were." She shifted slightly, easing the pressure on her side. "You looked ready to stab him with the first thing to come into your grip. Why do you think he ran out the door as fast as he did?"

"He's a coward," Nico said flatly, indicating that the subject was closed. "You should get some sleep." He pulled a packet from his pocket and placed it on the nightstand. "Here are the painkillers – take one if you think you need it. There's a water bottle on the floor near your hand if you want it. And if Chase comes back, I'm telling him to get lost."

"Why? He's a nice guy, he can stay, can't he?" She gave him her best pleading face, knowing she was fighting a losing battle. Her boyfriend was just as stubborn as she was.

"No, he can't," Nico said.

Lily winced suddenly as pain stabbed through her side again. "Can I have the painkillers?"

Nico slipped one between her lips and supported her while she drank water with it, letting her sink onto the bed afterwards. "Get some sleep," he whispered. "I'll be right here."

The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the feeling of his lips brushing hers softly.

Nico stroked her hair as she slept, straining his ears to hear the sounds coming from outside the cabin. He didn't have to wait long for news, as Percy entered minutes later, looking incredibly worried.

"They're a week away," Percy announced, collapsing onto the bunk opposite Lily's. "Clarisse said she was practicing archery off of pegasi when she saw them on the horizon. Apparently their force is greater than the previous one, and she wants to draw up a plan of action now."

Running a hand through his silky hair, Nico nodded. "We have to establish as many protective lines around the camp as we can," he said. "I think the magical shields that we Big Threes can produce are the best – ideally we'll do it in pairs, but not all of us can do it anyway. We'll work on that on our own and put them up in a couple days. For everything else, we'll have to talk to the rest too. There are Cyclopes in that force, and no one knows how to fight them, Percy. We aren't ready for this."

"Well, we're going to have to get on that," Percy groaned. "Damn, my hand is killing me. Nico, remind me never to punch a wall again, will you?"

"Maybe if you weren't trying to intimidate someone you wouldn't be able to beat up anyway, you wouldn't do that to yourself."

The other teenager rolled his eyes. "Great. I was just getting ready to indulge in some self-pity, and you go and say something that just might have been intelligent. Thanks, buddy."

"Anytime." Laughing quietly, Nico tried to stand up and found that he couldn't. Lily had fallen asleep with her hand clasped around his wrist, and he couldn't move away without moving her arm and quite possibly waking her up.

"Stuck, huh?" Percy snickered at him as he stretched out. "You know what, I think I would go and find Annabeth, except –"

"Except she found you first." Annabeth walked in, carefully closing the door behind her. She pulled Percy up from the bed, kissed him, and then noticed Nico. "Oh!" Blushing, she tried to step away from Percy and slapped him when he wrapped an arm around her waist, trapping her. When he didn't let go, she sagged against his chest. "Hi, Nico."

He nodded to her. "I'd give you two some privacy," he said, "But I'm kind of stuck here and I don't think you two should be alone without a chaperone of some sort." Later, he wished he'd had a camera to capture their expressions. Priceless, he thought, smirking.

"Shut up," Annabeth said, mortified.

Taking pity on her, Nico changed the subject as he sat back down. "Do you have any defense ideas for the camp yet?"

She sat forward, instantly engaged. "Well, Percy told me about those energy shields you want to put up, and I think that should be a great idea. We should basically do what we did last time – split the senior campers and the better fighters off into pairs or small groups and have them command sections of campers in the geographic and combative areas they're strongest in. I want to have better fortifications around our borders, and I want you, Leo, and Jake Mason to get going on figuring out the best way to do that." She caught the slight raise of Nico's eyebrows and frowned. "Your father is the god of the dead, Nico," she said. "If anyone can help us figure out how to win a battle, it's you."

"And you," Percy said, kissing her ear. "Children of Athena can be dangerous too."

"Only if they don't like you," Lily yawned. "And hi, Annabeth."

"How are you?" Nico breathed into her ear, supporting her waist and back to help her sit up as he placed some pillows behind her.

Lily smiled and kissed his mouth quickly, ignoring her brother's expression. "Better. What's going on?"

"We're being attacked in about a week, according to Clarisse's estimate," Annabeth said.

"Again?"

Nico laughed at his girlfriend's reaction. "Yes, princess, again," he said, settling back so that he was sitting next to her, his left arm casually hooked around her waist. "Hey, Percy, you still in touch with Tyson?"

"Of course," Percy replied, resting his head on Annabeth's curly blonde hair. "He's my half brother – how could I not be?"

"Ask him to come here and bring some of his friends, will you? We need to practice fighting Cyclopes."

"Who's Tyson?" Lily asked curiously, looking up at Nico.

"Percy's half brother," he said. "He's also a Cyclops. And before you ask, they're the children of Poseidon and a nature spirit of some sort, and they're sometimes seen as…mistakes. Tyson's a little sensitive about it, but he's apparently very nice."

"He's really very sweet," Annabeth interjected, "Just a little large. And he loves peanut butter. He cleans up much better than Percy, though, so you should have an easier time around here." She giggled as Percy scowled at her. "Remember that time I came in here to check your cabin and you had a pair of gym shorts or something on the floor?"

"Shut up," Percy grumbled. "I'm not as messy as you are – notes all over your bed, a laptop running even when you're not there, and –"

"Stop being so loud, guys," Lily hissed. "You'll wake Nico."

"But he isn't – whoa." Percy raised his eyebrows. Nico's head was resting on Lily's shoulder, and his mouth was slightly open. He was fast asleep.

"He probably hasn't slept in a while," Annabeth whispered, "What with everything going on around here and all the stress he's under."

Percy scoffed. "What stress?"

"He has to handle the Underworld monster escaping problem, make sure his father's got that under control, worry about Lily being nearly killed, and then figure out how to fight off the next battalion of monsters. On top of that, I think he still feels a bit like an outcast here – it's obvious that people are afraid of him and that they never know how to react to him. That's a lot for one person to handle."

"He's strong," Lily whispered, tracing his cheek lightly with her fingertip. "He can handle it."

"Yeah, well, I hope so," Percy said. "We're going to need all the Big Three people we can find. Hey, is Thalia still around with her Hunters?"

"They're in Cabin Eight," Annabeth answered. "They got into a fight with the Ares and Apollo cabins yesterday and ended up getting beaten pretty badly – those two are the wrong cabins to pick fights with, excepting you Big Threes."

Lily giggled. "That must have been pretty funny."

"It was, until Thalia tried to zap Clarisse," Annabeth said. "Clarisse blocked it with her electric spear and cursed the entire Artemis cabin so that all their weapons have turned to rubber, and won't turn back unless she recants the curse or a week passes. They're hopping mad."

Nico mumbled something incoherent in his sleep and shifted his head. Lily smiled and blushed, and Percy raised his eyebrows at her.

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Oh, come on," Annabeth coaxed, grinning. "Why are you smiling."

"It's nothing!" Lily sighed. "Fine, his hair tickles, happy?"

Annabeth burst out giggling, and a few minutes later Lily joined in, unable to suppress her mirth. Percy stared at them both.

"What…" Nico stirred and lifted his head off Lily's shoulder, looking around blearily. "What's the joke?"

Percy shrugged at him as the girls began to giggle again. "No clue."

"I'm going back to my cabin," Nico mumbled. "See you guys." He stood up and then fell back onto the bed as Lily dragged him back down to kiss him. She dragged it out as long as she could with her brother watching, and then reluctantly released him, missing the tingles he sent through her body as soon as they lost contact.

"See you tomorrow," she said, and waved as he said his goodbyes and walked gracefully out the door. The moment he left, Annabeth began to laugh again.

"What?" Lily asked.

"His hair tickles!" Annabeth gasped through her giggles. "That's hilarious, Lily."

"Well, it's true! It's all soft and silky and it just did, okay?"

"Can we stop discussing my best friend's hair now?" Percy moaned, looking uncomfortable.

The girls just continued to laugh, and after a while Percy stood up and walked out the door, muttering something about how he needed to ask Nico to refrain from falling asleep on his sister's shoulder in the future.

**A/N: SO SORRY ABOUT THE LONG WAIT! REALLY REALLY SORRY! School has just been killing me lately. But anyway, here you are, and I will try to update ASAP since we have a long weekend, although I'm busy tomorrow because it's THANKSGIVING! :D **

**And I don't even remember if I said this yet, but we managed to clear 100 reviews! Hugs and brownies and doughnuts for you all! And hot chocolate too. Thank you so much for sticking with me and the story, please R&R!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The next day, Lily found the pain in her side to have reduced greatly, and all her other bruises had nearly healed as well. Thankful for ambrosia and nectar, she found she could stand and even walk without assistance – running, however, left her with a fuzzy head afterwards. She was becoming slightly frustrated, because she was wearing a v-necked shirt of such a unique shade of green that she had only one sweater that matched it, and that one sweater was missing.

Hearing the door open, Lily called out, "Percy, have you seen my green sweater? I can't find it anywhere and it's the only thing I have that matches this shirt, so I really –"

She turned around, froze, and then screamed loudly. There was a huge figure (definitely not Percy) standing in the doorway – a humanoid, but with only one eye.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Nico melted out of the shadows and dashed over to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. In a few moments he satisfied himself that she wasn't physically hurt, and raised his eyes to the doorway. "Tyson. Hey, man, how're you doing?"

Lily's mouth formed a perfect 'o.'

"Lily, I'd like you to meet Tyson," Nico said, shepherding her towards the Cyclops standing in the doorway while keeping his arms around her. "Tyson, this is Lily – she's Percy's little sister."

Tyson shuffled his feet, looking nervously at the girl wrapped in Nico's arms. "Hi?"

"Hi, Tyson," Lily said, recovering from her shock at seeing the giant form in the doorway and berating herself mentally for reacting so idiotically. "It's nice to meet you."

Seconds later, Percy ambled in and found himself locked in a bone-crushing hug with his half brother. "Tyson! You came!"

"Rainbow brought me!" Tyson smiled, looking excited. "He likes apples and mangoes!"

"That's great, man," Percy chuckled. "He doesn't like me very much – I don't give him enough treats. Anyway, you want to come to the arena with me? We need to figure out how to train everyone in fighting Cyclopes."

"And making things go BOOM!" Tyson bounced on the balls of his feet, his wide smile showing off his rarely-brushed teeth. "My friends will come tomorrow, Percy. They will help too."

"See you around, you two," Percy called out as he dragged Tyson from the cabin, saying, "Let's go find Annabeth and some peanut butter, okay?"

Nico laughed as they heard Tyson respond enthusiastically. "Did he really scare you that badly?"

"Well, we knew there were going to be Cyclopes invading us soon, and he was right there and I was expecting Percy to be coming in and it was just…yeah."

He burrowed his face into her neck, smiling against her skin. "You are such a damsel in distress." Bending over her, he kissed her collarbone, smirking a little when her breath hitched.

"No, I am not," she hissed back. "I can take care of myself. And stop that!" Her cheeks colored as his lips fell back onto her collarbone, and he carefully slid them slightly lower so that he was kissing the skin right below and slightly under the bone. His soft hair tickled her neck and collarbone lightly as his mouth began to work its magic. Her head began to feel fuzzy as the tingles he sent through her body grew in magnitude until she felt that if he didn't take his mouth away, she was going to explode with the multitude of unidentifiable feelings she was experiencing.

"Nico…please…" she gasped out, and nearly moaned with relief when he unwound himself so that he was no longer bent over her left shoulder.

"I don't care if you are or aren't," Nico breathed into her ear, "You are my damsel in distress, and that's all that really matters."

"Not a damsel in distress," she muttered, stepping out of his warm embrace and towards the door, trying to ignore the way the rest of his sentence had made her feel even woozier. "We should go and find something to do. Hey, didn't Annabeth say that you and Leo and Jake need to work on building a fortress or something? You should go do that. I'm going to check on the pegasi – I haven't seen them in so long!" Without waiting for a response, she left the cabin, leaving him standing alone wondering how he managed to ever get her to reciprocate his feelings for her.

He had just turned around to shadow-travel away again when a small hand slid into his. Turning his head towards her, Lily gave him a quick kiss and a blushing smile before leaving the cabin once again. And this time Nico was the one with a fuzzy head.

The sun warmed Lily's face and made her feel instantly better. With a spring in her step, she entered the stables and walked straight into someone else.

"Sorry," Lily said, stepping back to regain her balance. She promptly lost it again as the person she had walked into barreled straight into her, hugging her so hard she nearly fell over.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" Jessie squealed, finally unwinding her arms and grinning widely into Lily's face. "Hi!"

"Hey! Oh my gosh it really does feel like too long! How are you?" Lily smirked suddenly. "And how are you and Leo?"

Tossing her flaming hair back, Jessie smiled even more widely. "Wonderful, but you aren't getting any details from me in a stable. Come on, we should go somewhere else."

"Where?"

"You'll see." Jessie ran outside, but slowed down almost immediately when she remembered that although her friend looked much better, she was still in danger of succumbing to the vestiges of her wounds. Those broken ribs had healed during the night, and Jessie suspected that Nico had smuggled in the Golden Fleece to help (but she wasn't one to blab).

The girls stopped outside Cabin Nine.

"Jessie," Lily said quietly, "Isn't this the Hephaestus cabin?"

"Yup."

"So what are we doing here?"

"We are going to talk. Trust me, besides your boyfriend's pad, Leo's is probably one of the most secure places here. It's amazing, and he's given me a key. I can't wait to show you – come on already!"

They opened the door and entered the empty cabin, which appeared relatively normal from the inside, although there were tools and weapons all over the place. Lily walked over to one of the largest beds and tapped a short rhythm out on the bedpost.

"Sit down," she ordered, seating herself on the bed and pulling Lily down next to her. Seconds later, the bed sank into the floor and took them into a chamber hidden underneath the floor of the cabin.

"Wow," Lily whispered, looking around. The room was comfortable, with a couple chairs, a desk littered with screwdrivers, nails, wires, hammers, and other tools. A large table took up most of the space, and it was covered with designs, drawings, more tools, a couple small machines whose use Lily couldn't guess, and…

"Nico was here," Lily said suddenly.

Jessie raised her eyebrows. "What?"

Lily walked over to the table and picked up the black knife that had been lying on one of the designs. "This is one of his knives," she said. "But he doesn't really leave them lying around, because they're…dangerous," she finished quickly, dropping it back onto the table.

"Screw it," Jessie decided. "Isn't this place amazing? Sit back down – I'll show you the TV." She pressed the corner of the nightstand and the wall shifted to reveal a large plasma TV with a cabinet full of DVDs beneath it.

"I like it in here," Lily smiled, crossing her legs and tugging at the hem of her denim shorts. "It's cool. Is there a popcorn machine in here too?"

"Yeah, but it makes you choose a movie to watch first."

"You didn't really have anything to say, did you? You just wanted to show me this." Lily grinned at Jessie as the latter nodded abashedly. "It's cool – let's watch a movie, then."

"How about…uhhh…"

"Titanic!"

"Sure, but don't you hate the ending? It makes me feel a little upset every time."

"I've never seen it, so…"

Jessie's eyebrows practically jumped off her face. "How have you never seen it? It's such a fantastic movie. Hey, TV! Titanic, please, and popcorn with butter and salt."

Moments later spidery arms popped out of the wall and deposited a large tub of popcorn on the bed behind Jessie. The TV blinked to life as the lights dimmed and the movie began, speakers popping out all around the room.

The girls were so engrossed in the movie that they didn't notice the door open half an hour later.

"Hey, Jessie! Can you come out for a sec? We need you to help look over some of our equipment – we don't have enough people who know what they're doing." Will had to nearly shout to be heard over the movie, but Jessie nodded and stood up.

"I'll be back in a moment," she said. "Are the weapons holding up against Tyson?"

The door closed behind them as their voices faded away, but it opened again a few minutes later.

"Hi, Chase," Lily said as the son of Hermes entered.

"Hey," he replied, seating himself on the bed next to her and ignoring the way she shifted slightly away as he positioned himself too close for comfort.

Feeling uncomfortable as he began staring at her, Lily got up off the bed, picked up Nico's knife, and walked to the door. "I think I'll give this back to Nico," she said, "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Wait!" Chase came quickly to where she was standing. "I need to tell you something important."

"Mhm?" She looked away from him for a moment, and that was a mistake. Seconds later he had pushed her up against the door, pinning her hands to the wood behind her with his own, lowering his head at an alarming rate towards her face.

"What are you doing? Chase!" Panicking for a few seconds, Lily suddenly came back to herself. Turning her head so that his lips missed her mouth, barely scraping her jaw, she lifted her leg and jammed her knee into his stomach. He grunted in pain but tightened his grip on her wrists as he doubled over, stopping her from running. Crying out in pain, she twisted her hands and arms in desperate attempts to free herself until she finally succeeded.

As his grip loosened ever so slightly, she jerked away from him and ran, a few tears trailing down her cheeks as the pain in her wrists flared up again. Fleeing the empty cabin, she somehow made it back to her own. As she burst through the door, she walked straight into a muscular abdomen. It was Nico, and Percy and Annabeth were standing slightly behind him.

"Lily, what happened?" Annabeth shoved Nico aside and hugged the younger girl tightly.

"Chase," Lily sniffled, wiping her eyes and standing back. "He tried to kiss me."

Nico's face darkened. "And did he?"

Shaking her head, Lily sighed. "I got away, but it was close. I just didn't think he'd try something like that."

"Well, you're staying with one of us at all times from now on, okay?" Percy rubbed his eyes. "How come everything happens to you, Lily?"

"I don't know," she snapped, "And I don't need to be babied. I can take care of myself, okay? And we have bigger problems. Where's Tyson? And are the pegasi prepped? I was interrupted before I could figure out how they're doing. And what about that fortress thing that Nico and –"

"Shush already," Annabeth laughed. "We've got it covered, and it would be nice if you could help with the pegasi, because except for Percy, none of us are that good with them. And if you want to check on Nico, Leo, and Jake's progress later, you're welcome to."

"Stay here, okay, Lily?" Nico said in a low voice. "I need to pay someone a visit." And before she could protest, he was out the door, a barely suppressed storm of fury swirling in his dark eyes.

**A/N: Yes, I know I seem to be stalling with the plot a little, but honestly I really kind of seem to like writing fluff and all that. But I apologize profusely for my pathetically late updates, and somehow school and an insane amount of work are my only excuses. Love and hugs for everyone, and please review for me! **


	21. Not a chapter, but please read!

Hi everyone! Yes, I know you're all going OMG SHE UPDATED, but that's actually not the case D:

So I'm very sorry about not updating, but I don't know if I'll be able to post a new chapter for another week or so. I have finals in exactly one week, and I'm extremely stressed and busy studying for them. So I will be back to posting after they finish – and since it'll be break, you guys will probably get much faster updates than I've been putting up lately – maybe even a three or four per week! *Excited* So thank you very much for sticking with me and supporting me, I love all your reviews and comments, and I hope you guys have a fantastic few weeks until I see you next!

Love, Cockapoo xxxxx


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N: THANK YOU! That's what I wanted to say – thank you everyone for being so sweet and patient while I finished my finals. I really appreciate all the good wishes I got from all of you, and I hope you guys have had a great couple weeks. I also apologize for the long wait you had to endure because of me, and I now have a chapter to give you all. So please enjoy, and I will see you at the bottom. Love you guys!**

Chapter 21

Hoping that Nico wasn't planning to get himself or Chase into too much trouble, Lily went back to the stables, figuring that Jessie would forgive her for not wanting to finish the movie just yet. Being with the pegasi always calmed her down – somehow it made her feel closer to her father, and that in turn gave her the feeling that ultimately, everything would be okay.

Rubbing Blackjack's muzzle, she slipped a cube of sugar between his teeth. "Hi, Blackjack, how's it going?"

He snorted, bumped his head against her hand, and retreated. Somehow, he never talked to her much – according to Percy, Blackjack was girl-shy. Whatever. Smiling, she moved on to the others, feeding them candy or sugar and making small talk. Her smile faded slightly when she got to the last pegasus, whose name was Cupcake. She was new – the Iris cabin had found her a few months ago, before Lily had arrived at camp, but so far no one had been able to ride her, not even Percy. Cupcake refused to communicate with any of them, maintaining a stubborn silence at all times.

Lily placed her hand on the white pegasus' mane and guided her out into the sunshine, hoping that the beautiful weather might soften the pegasus some. "Have you been out in a while?" she asked, not really expecting an answer, and not surprised when she didn't get one. Eyeing the fluffy white clouds in the sky, she quickly hoisted herself onto Cupcake's back, careful to keep her feet away from the beautiful white and gray wings spreading from her back.

_What are you doing?_ Cupcake's voice sounded in Lily's head for the first time, sounding shocked. Lily realized with a shock that this must be Cupcake's first time with a human on her back.

_I thought we should go for a ride, _Lily replied, using their telepathic connection. _The weather looks nice, and there are enough clouds to hide us if we need to. Shall we? _

The pegasus whinnied. _Fine, but if you fall off, it's not my fault. I haven't done this before – I grew up in the Himalayas, okay? And don't ask how I got here, because it's a long story that I don't feel like going into. But I've had some bad experiences with humans – there's a reason I avoid you guys. _

Before Lily could respond, Cupcake broke into a fast gallop, and moments later unfurled her wings and took them into the air. She was a smooth flier, her wings taking advantage of even the smallest updrafts so that she didn't have to strain unnecessarily to gain altitude. They broke through the first layer of clouds, Cupcake staying low enough that they could watch the camp pass by underneath them through a cottony layer of cloud.

_It's beautiful_, Lily breathed, and she felt Cupcake's agreement and awe through their link. Patting Cupcake's neck, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around it. _Thank you_.

_Thank me later. I want to try something more interesting first. _

Without warning, Cupcake launched into a series of dizzying loops and twirls, giving vent to her acrobatic side as the spiraled through the sky. Angling into a steep dive, Cupcake folded her wings against her sides as Lily screamed as if she were sitting on a rollercoaster. Just before they crashed, Cupcake pulled up out of the dive, taking them back up into the sky.

_Had fun? _Cupcake turned her head and snorted with amusement when she saw Lily sitting, shell-shocked, on her back, her dark hair all over her face due to the wind and speed.

_Warn me next time_.

After flying for another half hour, according to Lily's wristwatch, they decided to return to camp. Cupcake nuzzled the girl before returning to her stall, accepting a couple cubes of sugar as well.

Feeling much better about her previously rotten day, Lily skipped to Nico's cabin to see what he was up to. Walking in, she took one look at him and gasped. "Nico, what happened to you?"

"Nothing," he muttered. There was a thin line of blood streaming from the corner of his mouth, and there was a dark purple bruise on his left cheek.

"Does it hurt? Come here." Pulling him close, she gingerly felt the bruise. "Let me put something on it. Sit down, will you?" Going over to the small cabinet where he kept some basic medicinal supplies, she pulled out an ointment and began rubbing it gently onto the offending mark. "Be honest, okay, Nico? What happened to you? Did you try to attack Chase?"

Nico snorted, leaning into her touch slightly. "I didn't try to attack him – I did. You think I'm bad? He's got a broken nose and bruises everywhere." He chuckled sadistically, and Lily whacked him lightly on the side of the head.

"You idiot," she murmured fondly, kissing the side of his temple. Handing him a cloth, she said, "You have some blood near your mouth – wipe it off. Right side."

Sitting down next to him on the bed, she cuddled into his side, enjoying the feel of his arms around her.

Shifting so that he could look directly at her, Nico asked, "Are you tired?"

"No, why?"

"I wanted to show you how to set up a shield for yourself. I'll teach Percy afterwards and see if he and Thalia are compatible enough to work together. They're stronger if you combine."

She sat up, smiling brightly. "Okay, go ahead. I'm paying attention."

"Basic background first. In case you haven't noticed, we Big Three kids are the most powerful demigods there are. So we more of our characteristics and abilities are similar to the gods – if you take away the immortality aspect, the strongest of us are virtually minor gods. If we combine our resources – build our shields together, for example – we become more powerful.

"The gods are capable of using the energy inside of them directly; they don't have to change it into another form or even use a medium to control it. For example, my father is famous for blasting things with black balls of energy – he doesn't create fireballs or anything else. He just uses the energy and power he has to turn things into puddles of…stuff."

"So you're saying that we're capable of doing that too?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

Nico opened his palm and allowed a small sphere of black energy to dance on it. The black ball had occasional flashes of something that looked suspiciously like lightning running through it, and it hummed softly.

"Wow," Lily breathed, reaching out to poke it with a finger. Nico curled his fingers around her hand, stopping it.

"Don't touch it yet," he warned. "The energy is personalized – unless we've worked together on something like this once before, my body will see you as an enemy regardless of what you really are. If you touch this now, it will attack you. Wait until we've collaborated before trying, okay?"

"So how do you do it?"

"You have to tap the energy reserve inside your body to do it – and if you're near the ocean or something that you can draw power from, use that too."

Lily slapped his shoulder. "I figured that much out, genius boy. I mean _how _do you do that?"

"Uhhh…I don't know." He ducked as she aimed for his head this time. "I really don't know! The first time I did it was an accident – I was in danger and desperate and terrified and it just sort of happened."

"So I should go annoy Zeus, wait for him to aim a lightning bolt at me, and then hope it works?"

"Bad plan. Crazy bad idea."

Lily raised her eyebrows, more than a little irritated. "So you have no idea how to actually help me figure out how to do this?"

Rubbing his forehead, Nico sighed. "Would you let me inside your head? I can break the barrier between your mind and your magic if you do, and once it's been done before, you'll be able to find it and break it on your own."

She just looked at him with her big aquamarine eyes.

"It won't hurt, I promise, and I'll be in and out of your mind."

"Do it quickly," she whispered, closing her eyes and pushing her face into his shoulder. Moments later she felt a presence brushing lightly over her mind, and then, suddenly, she felt something snap deep within her. Nico withdrew from her mind as a wave of energy and power flooded her veins, making her feel more alive than ever.

"Wow," she breathed, opening her eyes again. "This feels fantastic."

"Now channel it," he instructed. "It's inside you, and it probably feels like it's all over the place. Choose a hand – I use my right – but be careful, because you can't change it. Concentrate on taking that energy, sending it through your palm, and try to stop it an inch away from your skin."

Lily focused, and seconds later a turquoise ball of energy shot from her hand but didn't stop. Nico yelped and ducked as it barreled towards his head, winding up on the floor.

"Sorry!" Lily grabbed his hand and pulled him back up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he laughed. "I was expecting that – it's okay. I blew a crater in the ground my first time. Thankfully, it was in Hawaii, so I don't think anyone would really notice. And it wasn't too big. But not bad," he nodded. "Now, to shield yourself, try the same thing, except you want to protect yourself, not blast your boyfriend into a puddle. It should look like this." His eyes darkened as the power filled his veins, and a transparent black shield suddenly expanded in a sphere around his body.

Lily tried to punch him, and found that the shield repelled her hand – it didn't hurt her, but she couldn't penetrate it. "This is incredibly cool," she giggled excitedly. "Okay, let me try."

After a few failed attempts, she managed to get a bubble around herself, but when Nico dropped his shield and poked hers with a finger, it collapsed.

"Oh, come on!"

Nico chuckled. "It's okay. You'll need some practice, but it'll improve quickly once you get used to maintaining it. All you need to do is keep your focus – so the less distracted you are, the better."

"So you want to use these to put a defensive wall around the camp?"

"Yeah, if Percy and Thalia can pull this off too. I'll show them how to do it later, and then we need to practice combining. Work on yours tonight, okay? Tomorrow we'll start doing them together – we don't have much time left. Hopefully Annabeth can get the rest of camp organized and prepared."

"They'll be fine. Clarisse is on it too, and so is Jessie. Between the three of them, the enemy won't stand a chance." Lily laughed. "I don't think they even need us, really."

Nico cracked a smile. "Well, I don't know about you, but I plan on sticking around. Who cares if they need us or not?"

While the two laughed and cuddled into each other, Zeus watched from his palace on Mount Olympus, his lip curling with barely suppressed rage. He sent a message to all the Olympians, including Hades, ordering them to come to Olympus for an emergency meeting. These kids were going to pay – demigods or no. There was a reason no demigod was ever told of his magical abilities.

**A/N: Sorry it's a little short! Again, I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING FOR SO LONG! Please read and review! Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS (IN ADVANCE) :D **


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Watching the setting sun's last rays filter through the treetops, Lily swished her bare feet gently in the stream running through the woods. She was getting pretty good at creating shields with her own energy, although she discovered that maintaining it for over an hour was an excellent way to drain herself of all her energy. Falling asleep on the spot, she'd woken up next to the stream, which was where she had decided to remain.

Nico had cornered her brother and Thalia in the afternoon, and she had heard Percy cursing loudly when it took him nearly half an hour to produce a shield. Thalia, of course, managed hers perfectly in less than a minute. Lily didn't like her for some reason – Percy had just laughed and told her that there was nothing to worry about, Thalia was a wonderful person, and it was just Poseidon's somewhat unfriendly history with Zeus that was making her feel antagonistic. But she couldn't shake the feeling that Thalia didn't like her much either, and that she didn't approve of Nico as well.

Waving at a naiad who smiled at her as she drifted past, Lily plucked a blade of grass and began shredding it in her hands. They didn't have much time left, she knew, but somehow she wasn't afraid of the fight that was coming to them. Hearing footsteps behind her, she stiffened, sliding a hand to rest on the hilt of the blade strapped to the belt around her hips. Curling her fingers around the cool metal, she stopped herself when she recognized the quiet but steady tread.

Moments later, Nico settled himself down next to her, resting his elbow on one knee. They remained silent, but his arm slipped around her waist and she snuggled into his side.

"How long have you been here?" Nico asked.

"A while," she mumbled. "Did I miss dinner?"

"You sure did," he chuckled, passing her a sandwich. "I thought I'd grab something for you since you weren't there."

"Thanks," she said, and they were quiet again until she had finished it. "How are they coming with the Cyclopes?"

Nico sighed. "They're getting better, but Tyson and his buddies can crush most of them whenever they want to. Clarisse is the best, just because she's willing to destroy everything in her path to get what she wants."

Lily laughed, her mind conjuring an image of Clarisse blasting the camp to pieces to find a scarf. "Well, she's a daughter of Ares. I suppose you can't expect much more."

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about, too," Nico muttered, twisting the hem of his black button-down shirt in his hands. He was pulling down on it slightly, and the two buttons he had left open at the top gave Lily a tantalizing view of his collarbone and the top of his chest.

"Yes?" Her voice came out breathier than she had intended, and Lily winced internally, fighting to keep the blush off her face. Of course it didn't work.

Nico smirked, what would have been an award-winning facial expression had there actually been a contest for it. "Yeah," he said, and the smirk slipped off his lips like water. "My dad talked to me earlier, and Zeus called a council on Olympus because of us. It seems he's incredibly pissed off because demigods aren't supposed to be able to create shields – it gives us the ability to actually use our powers to a greater extent, and as of right now, Hades and Poseidon combined have more children than Zeus does. Balance of power problem for him."

"So are we not allowed to use them anymore? Because it looks like it could be really useful, and I don't think –"

"The first rule of being a demigod," Nico interrupted, "Is to disregard anything that comes out of Zeus' mouth. He very rarely says anything worth listening to – the last time was probably millennia ago. We aren't going to stop using them unless he makes it a serious issue. I just wanted to warn you that he isn't too happy about it, and if you aren't comfortable doing it anyway then you shouldn't. Because if we make him irritated enough, he might try to blast us into bits."

"Then we'll get blasted into bits together," Lily decided, putting her arms around his narrow waist and pulling him even closer to her. Putting one hand into his hair, she gently guided his head down until she could press her lips to his. For a little while, he allowed her to control the kiss, and she kept it chaste, sweet, loving. But then Nico turned his body so that they were facing each other properly, and he stood up, his hands on her hip and behind her neck to maintain their connection.

Then he began to increase the intensity of the kiss, deepening it simultaneously. She was bent backwards, his hand on her lower back to support her as the other knotted itself in her hair. Lily could barely breathe, her head spinning as she returned the kiss with equal intensity. Moaning as he nibbled lightly on her lower lip, she raked her hands through his silky hair, loving the feel of it.

The overpowering need for oxygen made Lily break the kiss, gasping for breath the moment her mouth left his. Nico gave her a few seconds to recover and then reeled her in again, lowering his head to hers once more. He smiled against her mouth when her knees gave way and she tightened her grip on his shoulders to keep herself upright. But he found himself groaning when she bit his lip, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to heighten the intensity of the most fantastic feelings he had ever had in his life.

"What are you two _doing_?"

Recognizing Percy's voice, Nico rolled his eyes under his closed lids, refusing to break the kiss. But Lily had nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her brother, and she escaped his mouth with ease. Try as she might, though, Lily couldn't get Nico's insanely tight hold around her waist to loosen, so she just twisted in his arms so she could face Percy, her back to her boyfriend's chest.

"Hi," she said.

Percy frowned. He had been trying to find Juniper so he could ask her to make sure all the dryads and nymphs were prepared and raring to kick some monster butt, but instead he had found his sister and Nico passionately making out. Remembering a lecture Annabeth had given him at knifepoint about leaving the couple alone, he had been turning to leave when Nico had emitted a deep-throated groan, nearly a growl, and he had snapped. Lily's greeting had only made his mood worse – her breathless, dreamy tone was not something he had wanted to hear.

"Lily, come help me find Juniper, will you?" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed her arm and dragged her away from Nico, ignoring the angry twist of her mouth and her flashing eyes.

"See you guys," Nico called out, his voice laced with hints of amusement. Lily threw him a glare before wrenching her arm out of Percy's grasp.

"Here's Juniper's tree," she snapped, pointing. Her eyes were the color of the sea during a storm, reflecting both anger and the stars – the picture of girlish fury, Percy thought, if you ignored the lips that were pink and slightly swollen from an extremely smitten boyfriend's kiss. "And if you want to talk to her, I suggest you camp out here tonight and wait. Good night."

She stomped off in a huff, and Percy rolled his eyes. She'd recover by the next morning, he knew. The roar of the sea reverberated against his ears as he waited for Juniper, reflecting the anger he had felt when walking in on the two. He knew it was maybe a little unreasonable for him to expect them to keep their hands off each other when they were clearly infatuated with each other, but Nico's groan had made him want to stop them. Lily was his little sister – it was natural for him to be overprotective, right? Right.

Meanwhile, Lily's anger had worn off by the time she reached the cabins. Percy only wanted to protect her, and technically he had the right to feel that way, since her father was…otherwise occupied.

She stopped by the door of the Apollo cabin, hesitated, and then opened it and slipped inside quickly before the booming sounds could irritate the other cabins. Once inside, she laughed – she couldn't help it.

Jessie and Will were dancing on opposing bunk beds, Will ducking his head every now and then to avoid hitting the ceiling. Some of their siblings had hooked up electric guitars to their amps, and were playing rock sounds as loudly as they could. Two girls and one guy were all sharing a microphone, belting out the lyrics perfectly, hitting every note and adding a few of their own – in the correct key, of course. A drum set, complete with a drummer who was shaking his head to the beat hard enough to send his hair flying, was next to a keyboard, manned by a daughter of Apollo who had a cute little ponytail sticking vertically up on top of her head.

_I love this cabin_, Lily thought as she watched them all. "Jess!" She smiled and waved as Jessie noticed her, screamed out a hello that was lost in the din, and then lost her balance and collapsed on the bunk. Laughing, she climbed down the ladder and bounced over to meet her friend after sliding her feet into a pair of fluffy slippers.

"Hi!" Jessie eyed Lily for a moment and then gave her a smirk worthy of Nico. "Were you and Nico making out again?"

Lily blushed. "How can you tell?"

"Your lips are all swollen, sweetie. You look the way I do if Leo has been more…enthusiastic than usual." She giggled and then yelped and ducked as a guitar pick came whizzing out of nowhere. "Watch it, blockheads!" she yelled to the room in general, then waved to everyone and left, taking Lily outside with her.

"I love the way you guys are always so relaxed," Lily commented. "It seems so nice to have a cabin full of loud, fun people to go home to."

"Don't feel bad because you only have Percy, okay?" Jessie snorted. "I'd love to trade you – he seems like he'd be a fantastic brother."

"He is! It's just that sometimes it gets a little lonely, you know? It's just the two of us, and when I come by your cabin it's always so full of life and energy."

"Yeah, and every night there are projectiles flying all over the place when someone loses a guitar pick, a drumstick, or even a guitar. We can get pretty crazy, and we do it a lot. The only really really good parts about being children of Apollo are the projectile talents, music, and being able to curse everyone else to speak in awful poetry if you don't like them."

Lily laughed. "Well, that sounds pretty good to me."

"Yeah, but we don't get the hot Hades guy running after us with a lovestruck look on his face, do we?"

"No, but you got the super-genius of a blacksmith who can wield fire and crack funny jokes randomly – and he is kinda cute, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Of course I don't! I completely agree, and besides, I think we're good enough friends that you can tell me my boyfriend is cute without my having to worry about you trying to steal him. Besides, didn't we already establish that yours is incredibly hot? Although more than a little scary?"

"He is not scary," Lily protested. "He's a really sweet guy."

Jessie raised her eyebrows. "He is by far the scariest guy I have ever met. Maybe you didn't notice, Lily, but he kinda has this aura of death around him wherever he goes. It doesn't really give you a warm fuzzy feeling when he comes near, you know?"

"Well, he is the son of Hades, what do you expect? But just because he _can _run around killing people ever time he gets annoyed doesn't mean he _will_. You have to realize that he's just another guy too – someone who has feelings and all that. It's just that it's a little more dangerous to annoy him than, say, Will. Not that Will's a softie or anything, but –"

"I get you," Jessie giggled, "You can stop rambling now." Her face sobered. "You wanted to know how everyone's getting along with monster training, right?"

Lily nodded.

"It's going okay," Jessie sighed. "Most people here are decent fighters, and of course you know we have some exceptional ones. The problem is that so many are very very new to all this. They don't have an actual monster-fighting background, and I'm worried that when we need them to be ready, they'll just panic at the sight of a real, fire-breathing and bloodthirsty monster and forget what they already know."

"I hope that doesn't happen," Lily mumbled, "Because we are going to go straight from the frying pan into the fire if we can't make this work."

"I was thinking of sending a battalion up into the sky on pegasi to shoot the enemy down," Jessie said. "How's your archery? I think you and I need to practice together some."

Lily groaned with mock-despair, and their laughter echoed gently in the night.

**A/N: Thank you everyone for reviewing my last chapter! I really really really do appreciate all your feedback and your kind words. Please tell me what you think of this piece! See you all soon!**


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Hades stood glaring at a rose made of diamonds that was lying on the sofa. His wife had left it there, but for once its beauty held no charm for him. As the firelight flicked across his face, he thought back to the meeting he had attended earlier on Mount Olympus…

_ Zeus glared around at everyone assembled, his bushy eyebrows lowered in a frightening V. Apollo was paying him no attention, too busy changing the song playing on his iTouch to be alert. Ares was sharpening a knife on the edge of his throne, Dionysus was drinking purple Kool-Aid, Aphrodite was checking his mascara in a small mirror, Poseidon was yawning, Hermes was texting someone, and in general all the gods seemed bored out of their wits. Hades had chuckled to himself at the scene, keeping his face carefully devoid of emotion. _

_ "ENOUGH!" Zeus bellowed suddenly, his temper flaring as Artemis and Athena began a conversation about something and Apollo got into a fight with Ares about the song he was listening to. "All of you just shut up! I called you hear for a reason, not to give you time to…to…"_

_ "Hang out?" Apollo suggested. _

_ "That's such a stupid phrase," Hermes interjected. "We aren't actually hanging from anything at all, why would you say that?"_

_ "It's what the cool kids say," Apollo smirked, his smile blindingly bright. _

_ "That is not important," Zeus snapped, cutting in before Hermes could reply. "I know nearly all of you have been keeping tabs on those two…kids. Lily and, uh…"_

_ "Nico di Angelo," Aphrodite said. "Come on, you can't remember their names yet? Those two are the cutest thing since Helen and Paris. Have you seen the way he looks at her? It's so sweet." Her eyes darkened suddenly as she gazed suspiciously at Zeus. "If you want us to try and break them up, I suggest you –"_

_ "Let me finish." Zeus held up a hand, silencing her. "Those two are trying to use the energy inside their bodies to manipulate the world. They are trying to harness what mortals sometimes refer to as magic. I refuse to allow them to do so. If they –"_

_ "Well, why not?" Athena spoke up, her gray eyes challenging the rest of the gods to interrupt her. "They are going to use their abilities to protect the camp, and since we immortals have made the decision to leave them to fight their own battles, at the very least we should help them make use of the weapons they actually have, instead of trying to hinder their every step." _

_ "And what happens if they make a mistake? They could even end up killing themselves," Zeus said. _

_ Hades coughed. He looked at his brother innocently, but Persephone, who had insisted on accompanying her husband there, understood him perfectly. _

_ "You wouldn't care if they died or not," she said accusingly, staring straight at Zeus and moving surreptitiously closer to her husband just in case the king of the gods did manage to lose his temper. _

_ "She's right," Ares interjected. "And if they do manage to pull it off, the war down there will get a lot more interesting, don't you think? I think we should just leave them alone. It's not as if they'll blow the whole world to Kingdom Come if they don't master it right away – hell, it didn't take that little girl that long to figure it out anyway._

_ "You have a different problem with their succeeding, don't you? It has to do with your power – with the balance of power up here. I've seen it coming for some time now, you know. Being the war god gives you insight into power struggles nearly everywhere, and this one is obvious." He smirked. "You're worried that if those two kiddos get too powerful, and since they are romantically involved with each other, their combined influence will enhance that of their parents, and Poseidon and Hades will gradually end up more powerful than you. And you're worried that this is going to end up turning into World War III."_

_ The room exploded as the gods turned to their neighbors, discussing everything Ares had just thrown out at them. The war god himself slumped in his chair, trailing a lazy finger over the gleaming blade of his knife and watching Aphrodite from across the room. _

_ "QUIET!" Zeus shouted, and the room again came to relative order – however temporarily. "I expect you all to try to come up with a way to preserve Olympus _the way it is_ – do you understand me? Now leave, before my headache gets worse." _

_ The gods trailed out of the throne room but met in the gardens, all of them looking at each other warily, not sure who they were going to back. _

_ "Let's try not to turn this into another war, all right?" Athena said. "I'm sure this will blow over in a little while – if we try taking sides, it's going to turn messy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be. I'll see you all later." She turned into a gray owl and flew away, hooting softly before vanishing from sight. _

_ "Well, I for one think Zeus needs to get his head screwed on straight," Aphrodite announced. "If he does anything at all to get in the way of those two, he's going to have to deal with a very angry me. Which may involve a terrible love life for him for the next couple centuries, among other things." _

_ "Yeah, like pink everywhere. What a curse," snorted Artemis, who had never really seen eye-to-eye with Aphrodite for anything. "That boy is probably corrupting the girl's pure mind. She should be rescued from him before –"_

_ "Before nothing," Apollo snapped. "My daughter is best friends with Lily, and she seems to think that those two are perfect for each other. And I trust her judgment – especially since my son Will agrees with her, and those two rarely agree on anything relationship-wise. And I also agree with Athena: we should leave this here. Peace!" And he vanished in a column of fire, leaving the other gods to say quick farewells and leave. _

_ (End flashback)_

Footsteps broke his reverie, and he turned around quickly, relaxing when he saw his wife's slender figure approaching him through the dark hall. Persephone entered the room, looking divinely beautiful as the fire glinted off her hair and bare arms. But she had always been the one to rebuff him, to stay aloof, and now Hades masked his emotions with a slightly bored expression as he had always done, refusing to show her that even after centuries, she still affected him as strongly as she had the first time he'd seen her.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly, laying a small hand on his sleeve. When he didn't respond, she sighed, made a mental note to visit her friend Aphrodite again later, and looked back up at him. "Poseidon was here a while ago – he wanted me to tell you that he doesn't think that your son is doing anything wrong, and that if Zeus wants to turn this into an issue, then he has your back." She hesitated, and then turned to leave. "And so do I."

Hades opened his mouth, but before a word could fall from his lips, she had gone, her frame disappearing quickly into the darkness once again. And he sighed, hating the fact that he was too scared of another rejection to tell his wife that he still loved her.

Meanwhile, back at Camp Half-Blood, Lily and Jessie were poring over an assortment of weaponry at the Hephaestus cabin. Leo had shown them where the weapons were kept and had then skedaddled, saying he had to go check on the "fortifications" that Nico and Jake were supposed to be erecting with the help of the Cyclopes who were currently at camp.

"This looks wicked," Jessie laughed, lifting a huge double-handed sword. "Heads up!" She struck a fierce pose before dropping the sword suddenly. "Damn. It's too heavy."

"Well, I think –" Lily broke off as the door opened and Annabeth walked in, looking harried. "Hi Annabeth!"

Jessie frowned. "Are you okay, Annabeth? You look really worried."

"The Stoll brothers played a prank again," she sighed. "But they did it to Malcolm. He never eats almonds, and they thought that he hates the taste – they didn't realize he's allergic. They managed to slip a bunch of them into something he ate earlier today, and he had an awful reaction. He's okay now, but over half my cabin is out for their blood right now."

"That's horrible! I'm so sorry," Jessie and Lily said together. They looked at each other and smiled.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Lily asked, and froze when she heard loud shouts coming from outside. The three girls flung the door open, racing outside with swords in their hands – or a bow, in Jessie's case.

A huge crowd had gathered in the middle of the camp, outside the Athena cabin. One of Annabeth's other siblings, a well-built guy whose name Lily vaguely remembered to be David, was shouting at Connor and Travis, who were yelling back at him. All three were brandishing swords, and several other Athena campers were standing behind David, eyeing the brothers angrily and shouting about how they had nearly killed their deputy counselor.

"Guys! Calm down!" Annabeth called out, but they all ignored her. The door of the Hermes cabin slammed open, and all the campers inside it came running out, waving a strange assortment of weapons in the air. Some carried baseball bats, others had proper swords or knives, and one camper was holding a hockey stick in his hand.

Jessie sucked in her breath. "I'm going to go get Chiron," she said. "This looks like it's going to get ugly fast. See you!" And she sprinted off, her red hair rippling down her back as she ran.

Lily and Annabeth raced towards the crowd, pushing their way through to the middle. Thankfully, no one had attacked yet, although the atmosphere was dangerously tense. The shouting hadn't ceased, when someone else pushed through from behind David.

The new girl was one who Lily had often seen Annabeth talking to – another daughter of Athena, who was seventeen years old – around two years younger than Connor, Lily guessed. She was strikingly pretty, her brown hair having natural caramel highlights in it that gleamed every time the sun struck them, and her chocolate brown eyes, although normally cheerful, were narrowed at her brother. She began talking to him earnestly but quietly, and Lily, glancing over at Annabeth, noticed an approving smile on the older girl's face.

Confused, she continued to watch the new arrival, whose name she suddenly remembered to be Isabelle. The girl was wearing yoga pants with a baggy Harvard sweatshirt, and she carried a newspaper page about a water polo game in one hand. The other, Lily noticed with amusement, was tightly clutching a long sword in a way that told her that the girl was an experienced (or at the very least talented) fighter. She was also quite tall – taller than David and only a few inches shorter than the insanely tall Connor, who was standing quite closer to the siblings.

"Are you crazy?" David shouted suddenly, loudly enough that Lily could hear him over the din. Annabeth made a movement next to her, and Lily realized that she was now gripping her knife tightly.

Isabelle said something else to David, growing more animated in her movements and speech as David's expression grew stormier. She poked him in the chest suddenly, her expression upset but her words still inaudible.

Whirling around, Isabelle walked straight up to Connor and wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling one hand in his messy brown hair and pulling his head down slightly so she could reach him. Their lips met, and silence fell on all the campers assembled there. Connor was returning Isabelle's kiss eagerly, with a passion that Lily hadn't expected to see in the prankster. He was sliding his fingers through the braid her hair was tied in, wrapping his other arm around her waist and pressing her body into his. He deepened the kiss suddenly and Lily heard a few girls behind her gasp as Isabelle moaned audibly, their opened lips moving constantly. Lily risked a glance at David and fought the temptation to laugh – his mouth was open in a perfect "O" as he watched his sister making out with the young man he had wanted to attack moments ago.

"What is going on?" Percy shoved his way through the crowd, followed by Nico and Jessie.

"I couldn't find Chiron," Jessie announced to no one in particular, "So I thought I'd bring these two in case things got messy."

"Well, it just got a little…heated," Annabeth answered, gesturing to the still intertwined couple with a small smile. "They've been going out for a while, but she never really told anyone but me because she wasn't sure how all our brainy siblings would take the news that she was in love with a joker."

Percy's eyebrows traveled steadily up his face as he watched them for a few seconds. He then turned to Nico. "How about you deal with it?"

Nico sighed and stepped forward so that he was standing next to Lily. "Hey, Connor!"

Connor lifted his head from his girlfriend's and tilted his head slightly. "What?"

"Hold her tighter, buddy, she's practically a foot away from you!"

Grinning at Nico, Connor grabbed Isabelle and pulled her even closer to him, if that was even possible. He then kissed her again, earning _awww_'s from many of the girls.

"That wasn't what I meant, Nico," Percy said, fighting the urge to laugh at his friend. "What was that? I thought you were going to rip him off her or something."

"Nah," Nico replied. "We're friends, me and Connor. He tried to prank me once, I caught him, we both nearly got eaten by a hellhound sneaking up on us, and we wound up being friends after all that. And anyway, the rest of the gang left, didn't they?"

Sure enough, the other campers had all dispersed, some disappointedly, going back to preparing for the upcoming battle.

Connor and Isabelle finally broke apart for air, and Isabelle blushed when she noticed everyone still staring.

"Hi?" Her voice was quiet, but tinged with amusement, and in seconds all of them were laughing as they hadn't in days, the tension of an upcoming battle and their own little dramas falling away.

"That's all you could think of?" Jessie asked in between gasps, bending over and clutching at a stitch in her side. "Hi? Really?"

"That was beautiful, Nico," Connor chuckled, his blue eyes reflecting the sky above. "Really beautiful. Did you see the look on David's face when you said that? I thought he couldn't decide who to kill first – you or me."

"Definitely you," Nico laughed. "He wouldn't have even a hope of a chance with me."

"That's modest," Lily chided, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. "You're not such a skilled fighter, you're only kind of good. You just got lucky because your dad is so powerful."

"Really?" Nico asked, tickling her sides suddenly. "Am I really unskilled? Huh?"

Letting loose a loud war cry as Lily shrieked with laughter and begged for mercy, Jessie tackled Nico from behind. "Get off my friend!"

Percy dove in to help her, and moments later they were all on the ground, breathless with laughing.

Annabeth recovered first. "Okay, everyone get up," she ordered. "Percy, you come with me. We're going to go see just what kind of fortifications Nico and those other two managed to put up around us. Lily, Jessie, and Isabelle, you three should go see if Clarisse needs any help. She's managing the organization of who's going to be where when the storm hits. Nico, can you and Connor, uh…"

"We'll find something to do," Connor grinned. "Come on, di Angelo. We gots to find something to do."

Annabeth groaned. "I shouldn't have paired them together, should I?"

"Relax," Nico advised her. "I'll give you my word – we'll do our best not to burn down the Athena cabin, okay?" Chuckling, he kissed Lily quickly, ignoring Percy's nauseated expression, and they split up, feeling ready to take on the world.

**A/N: PLEASE EXCUSE THE CHEESY LAST LINE! I couldn't think of any way to end it. Please R&R! Love you guys! :D **


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Who wants to go in first?" Jessie asked, looking at Lily and Isabelle. "That place is supposed to have land mines all over the place, plus barbed wire and booby traps everywhere. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The three were standing on the doorstep of the Ares cabin, staring up dubiously at the blood-red paint on the walls and the barbed wire decorating them.

"It might be smarter to just Iris-message Clarisse and find out where she is. If she's in the Big House, we're probably wasting our time here. And it's less risky to check there first, even if this is closer." Isabelle fixed her gray eyes on the other two, trying to convince them she was right. Which, of course, she was.

"Oh, heck," Lily grumbled. "I'll go in first. If I don't make it out, it's Jessie's fault for not listening to Isabelle."

Yanking the door open, she raised her eyebrows. The cabin was entirely empty – not a single camper was inside. Weapons were scattered around the floor, and maps littered the area, which was pervaded by the strong smell of Sharpies.

"Big House it is," Isabelle breathed, grabbing Jessie and Lily by the arms and pulling them backwards with strength somehow disproportionate to her slender frame. "Come on, guys, you can check the cabin out when there isn't a war looming over our heads, okay?"

They hurried over to the Big House, and found Clarisse pacing near the dining table, which was covered by a huge map of the camp. She looked up when they walked in, her eyes wide and worried.

"Is everything okay, Clarisse?" Lily asked nervously. A worried daughter of Ares was never a good sign – a bloodthirsty one or an angry one she could handle. But worry – that meant that something was going badly for them. Very badly.

"Everything is not okay," Clarisse growled, her eyes bloodshot, probably from a lack of sleep. "Have you seen how disunited everyone here is? If Isabelle hadn't started making out with her secret boyfriend" – she smirked at the younger girl's blush – "We would've wound up with a huge fight on our hands. And we can't afford that now! Why can't they understand that we need to work together to save our own skins?"

"It wasn't Connor's fault," Isabelle said. "He pranks people all the time – the others should've known that."

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is," Clarisse sighed. "Right now, I haven't even figured out who's going to be fighting with whom and commanding who, because I don't know who'll be able to work together."

"We can do that for you," Jessie offered. "And you can look it over afterwards and change things if you feel like you need to."

"That's a good idea," Lily said quickly. "Clarisse, honestly, it looks like you haven't slept in ages. Chris is going to die if you pass out in the middle of a fight, okay?"

Clarisse nodded and walked out, heading for her cabin. "Good luck, cupcakes," she called over her shoulder before the heavy door slammed shut behind her.

"I am not a cupcake," Jessie hissed under her breath. "Anyone got Sharpies?"

Ten minutes later they had the "demigods-in-charge," as Jessie liked to call them, chosen and placed. Jessie, Leo, and Thalia were covered the area near Thalia's pine tree – the main entrance to the camp. Lily and Nico were in the woods, stationed near Zeus' fist. Percy and Annabeth were at Fireworks Beach, and Clarisse and Will Solace were covering the strawberry fields. The eastern border would be guarded by Isabelle, Malcolm or David (depending on whether or not Malcolm had recovered), and Connor, who was surprisingly good with a sword.

Another twenty minutes later they had all the campers stationed throughout the camp and Sharpie marks all over their hands.

"I hope she's okay with this." Lily flopped down onto a comfortable couch, stretching herself out.

"She will be," Isabelle said confidently, pulling a pair of orange Ray-Bans from her sweatshirt pocket and fiddling with them. "Our arrangement is the best one possible. We should be fine."

Jessie's head whipped around suddenly. "Did you hear that?" They were silent as footsteps sounded softly from the hall. Isabelle jammed the glasses on her face and drew her sword, while Jessie notched an arrow to her bow and Lily crouched in a defensive stance, her sword drawn as well.

The door opened and Nico and Connor walked in, the latter carrying an orange balloon.

"Nice reception, guys," Connor grinned. He walked over to Isabelle, dropped to one knee, and offered her the balloon. "For my princess," he said, smiling as Jessie and Lily squealed.

Isabelle squeaked and backed away from him.

"Hey, come on, it's a balloon, not a bazooka," Connor protested. "Just take it, Isabelle, it's not going to hurt you."

Lily exchanged confused glances with Jessie, who was trying not to laugh. "Is she scared of balloons?" Lily whispered, watching Connor chase Isabelle around the room, trying to give her the balloon.

"Looks like," Jessie whispered back. "Oh, imagine the fun we are going to have with this one."

Lily squeaked suddenly as someone grabbed her shoulders from behind.

"It's me," Nico said from behind her. "Relax, princess."

"Awww," Jessie teased. "Well, I'm going to go find Leo. Nico, do you know where he is?"

"I'll walk you there," Nico said. "Lily will come with us too, right? Right." Without waiting for an answer, he looped a lazy arm around Lily's waist and pulled her along. "Leo will kill me – or try to – if I let you go there alone," he said to Jessie.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Where were you two, and what were you doing there? Wait, I thought you were with Connor. What happened?"

"I was, but he decided to run off with Travis somewhere, so I made myself useful in the Forge. It turns out that sons of Hades aren't bad blacksmiths, considering that we tend to make our own swords and daggers and stuff. But it's a little dangerous in there right now – there's sparks and bits of bronze and steel flying everywhere – one girl almost got brained by a hammer that someone else had too loose of a grip on."

They had just stepped outside when Clarisse came running up to meet them. "Wherever you three are going," she panted, "You need to redirect yourselves. Percy and Annabeth went out on Blackjack earlier, and they spotted the monsters. They're damn close," she gasped out. "I'm going to get that map and explain to everyone where they're going – tell everyone who you meet if you can remember where they need to be. Grab armor and ambrosia if you want it, make sure you have your weapons, and station yourselves wherever you need to. Get going!" She jogged up the steps into the Big House.

"Good luck, Lily!" Jessie grabbed her friend and wrapped her in a big hug. "Keep Nico in one piece, okay?" Laughing, she ran off, shouting for Leo as she headed towards the Forge.

"You're with me," Lily said to Nico as chaos erupted around them. "We're at Zeus' fist – we've got a mix of mostly Ares and Apollo fighters with some Hermes and Demeter and others thrown in."

"Gotcha," Nico said. "I need to get my armor, and so do you. I'll meet you there in five minutes?"

"Okay." Lily grabbed his collar, pulled him close, and kissed him quickly before sprinting towards the Poseidon cabin. Seconds later she felt an arm around her hips and she was pulled into blackness, moving faster than if she were on a rollercoaster. When the darkness cleared, she found herself standing in her cabin.

"Sorry," Nico said, not sounding too sorry. "Probably should've warned you, but I thought that shadow-travel would be faster than walking."

Not bothering to reply, Lily divested herself of her sweatshirt and pulled on her breastplate and helmet instead, not bothering with the rest of her armor. Strapping a slender belt for her sword around her hips, and added a few knives to her weapons collection. "Let's go," she breathed, putting her arms around Nico and letting him shadow-travel them to his cabin.

He followed a similar drill, slipping a breastplate over his t-shirt and sliding a helmet over his face. His sword hung from his hips too, and he grabbed her arm to shadow-travel again. They melted out of the shadows near Zeus' Fist, which was crawling with demigods, and promptly terrified a young Aphrodite girl who hadn't known that Nico could travel through the shadows.

Nico winced as her shrill scream reverberated through his head, and walked away as Lily tried to calm the other girl, who couldn't have been over fifteen and seemed so scared about the coming battle that anything was enough to frighten her out of her wits.

The Apollo campers were perched in the trees, fitting arrows to their bowstrings and facing the darkness before them with snarling, nearly bloodthirsty expression. Lily watched them with a sense of pride and a sense of fear – apparently the musical, funloving children of Apollo were going to be excellent fighters. Not that she had doubted them. Lily rubbed her arms, which were nearly bare because of the short sleeves on her shirt, wishing she'd had a chance to wish Percy and Annabeth and Isabelle luck. She tried not to think about what would happen if she never got to see them again.

Hearing sniffles, she looked over to see the little Aphrodite girl fighting back tears as she stared at the surrounding trees. "Hey," Lily murmured, "What's wrong?"

The girl wiped her eyes. "Nothing."

"What's your name?"

"Daisy," she said. Suddenly she looked Lily straight in the eyes, striking the older girl with intense violet eyes and a beautiful face. "Are we going to die?"

Lily laughed nervously. "Of course not, who told you that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? If there are too many of them, we don't stand a chance. Clarisse thinks we'll be too busy fighter each other to actually help ourselves. I heard her."

"We are not going to die," Nico said, walking up to the girls and crouching down next to them. "We are going to give those filthy monsters exactly what they deserve. We are going to kick some ass. Just because we don't always get along doesn't mean a thing. We're still family, and although we argue, we love each other and we will fight to protect each other. We'll be fine."

The girl eyed him for a moment, and then smiled. "I'll see you two," she said, standing up and giving Lily a knowing grin. "Good luck."

"Pretty good speech, huh?" Nico muttered, glancing at Lily out of the corner of his eye.

"Shut up," she smiled. "Yeah, it was pretty good. Very inspiring." Lily pulled off her helmet and stood, waiting until he followed her example before taking his helmet in her hands and gently pulling it upward, off his head. "But just in case, I wanted to give you something."

His voice was husky. "What?"

And then she kissed him, passionately, unlike the normally soft and sweet kisses she gave him. Nico didn't even try to fight for dominance – he allowed her to control the kiss, matching her intensity and holding her so close that he could feel her heart beating in time with his.

And miles below them, Hades stepped back from a scrying glass made of pure diamond. His eyes were full of pain as he wondered if he should warn his son that there was a very large chance that his girlfriend would not survive the battle.

**A/N: And another quick update! Sort of…Please R&R! And thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/subscribed – I really appreciate it!**


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The woods were still. Lily could hear the faint sound of Nico's steady breathing beside her, calming her. A twig snapped in the trees before them, and instantly a bow twanged, accompanied later by the dying roar of a monster.

"Thank the gods for Apollo's sharpshooters," Nico breathed, sharing a quick smile with her. "Lily, before this –"

"DUCK!" Grabbing his shoulder, Lily forced him to lie flat on the ground as arrows sped towards them, aimed by the retaliating battalion. An arrow scratched her arm, leaving a bloody trail on her skin and causing her to hiss in pain. She shifted her position to hide the blood from Nico, grateful that the arrow had not actually embedded itself in her.

"Let's go," Nico muttered, before pushing himself up onto his feet and launching himself onto the rocks of Zeus' Fist, scaling them with fluid catlike leaps. "LET'S GO!" he bellowed, brandishing his nightmarishly black sword and snarling through the guard of his helmet at the monsters that poured from between the trees.

The hellhounds came first – gigantic loping canines that were felled at first by the arrows loosed by the archers in the trees. Lily followed Nico's lead, but found that her legs were a bit short to leap up the rocks as gracefully as he had. Instead, she endured a short but undignified scramble to both get up the rocks and draw her sword at the same time. Making it to the top, she crouched down and jumped at an oncoming hellhound, while Nico was on the ground in front of Zeus' Fist grappling with another. Several campers followed her lead, attacking the monsters with swords and knives.

Katie Gardener and some of her fellow Demeter cabinmates smirked as the monsters found themselves trampling into poison ivy. They charmed the weeds to grow around the legs of the monsters, pulling them down to the ground to make them easy targets.

Nico dispatched another hellhound with a quick twist of his weapon, and turned, panting, to face the woods again. Confused, he blinked his eyes, wondering if they were playing tricks on him. Beautiful young girls were emerging from between the trees, and one of them approached him, swaying her hips as she walked. Her deep, gorgeous eyes held him in place as she ran a tongue lightly over her lips, maintaining eye contact with him as she smiled winningly and slipped one hand on the bare skin of his neck, running it down his throat in a light caress. Something in the back of his brain screamed for him to move, to run, to fight, and the voice sounded surprisingly like Lily's – but even the image of his beautiful girlfriend couldn't shake him out of the lethargy in time. Even as he tried to break free of her spell, the girl bared sharp white teeth and lunged for him.

Meanwhile, at Fireworks Beach, Annabeth and the other campers were standing around, looking bored. Only the few archers there had anything to do.

"Percy," Annabeth said, breathing deeply through her nose and trying to stay patient, "Can you please stop doing that so we can actually do something? This is the most bored I have been in ages."

"No can do," Percy muttered, his brow creased with concentration. "And you're only bored because you can't kiss me right now – if you do, I'll lose control and we'll all drown. Well, all of you will. I can't."

He was standing in front of a tsunami-sized wave, which was moving in an undulating kind of way to swallow up every single monster that appeared on the shore. It was somewhat impressive, as Annabeth would later concede, but at the same time, the physical strain on Percy was enormous. She would feed him tiny pieces of ambrosia every few minutes to keep him on two feet. And although she hated to admit it, Annabeth loved the way he was so willing to sacrifice himself if it meant keeping everyone else safe.

Jessie, Leo, and Thalia, however, were not having as easy of a time on Half-Blood Hill. They were wading in a sea of monsters – except Jessie and a few of her siblings, who were perched in Thalia's pine tree, shooting down monsters from their vantage point. Large storm clouds were gathered in the sky – courtesy of Thalia – and they pelted the monsters with random lightning strikes. It was beginning to rain, a gusty wind accompanying it for added effect. But the rain dampened Leo's fire, making it harder for him to use his gift to enhance his fighting ability. Thankfully, in Jessie's opinion, his skill with both a hammer and a sword enabled him to survive even without the fire. Their situation was similar to those around the camp – only the campers on Fireworks Beach had it easy.

Back at Zeus' Fist, Nico stood frozen with shock as an empousa lunged at him. But before she could make contact, her expression twisted. The tip of a sword emerged from her chest, and she disintegrated. Snapping out of his trance, Nico saw Lily standing behind the dust cloud that had been the empousa, her sword extended before her and a feral expression on her face.

"Thanks," Nico said, his chest heaving as he gulped in air.

"No problem," she answered, and then turned and ran off, trying to find another enemy before she could begin to wonder what would've happened if she hadn't reached Nico in time. Lost in thought, she jerked backwards as she nearly ran into a blazing tree. Trying to locate the source of the fire, she searched the woods with her eyes and froze.

Large black horses with flaming manes were cantering through the trees, breathing fire to set the woods ablaze. Dryads and nymphs were appearing everywhere, throwing acorns at the horses and trying to put out the fires. Lily vaguely remembered Percy mentioning how he ran into fire-breathing horses at the Triple G Ranch, but she couldn't figure out how to stop the inferno.

"Put it out!" Nico shouted at her as he ran past, shouting something in Ancient Greek that caused one of the horses to crumple, dead. Drawing his sword, he began chanting, but even as a small fissure opened in the ground and undead warriors clambered out, he doubled over in pain as arrows clattered against his armor and occasionally pierced him. Other campers were running back to the Apollo campers for medical help as they received burns or other injuries. The smoke stung Lily's eyes as she turned desperately, looking for help. But instead, she saw something worse.

More horses were appearing in the trees, but instead of breathing fire, these had wickedly sharp teeth. Remembering her telepathic abilities when it came to horses, Lily tried to contact them, but all she received in return was bloodlust and hungry. The blood in her veins ran cold as she remembered the flesh-eating horses that had also been raised on the Triple G Ranch. She saw the horses trampling another camper, bending down with those dangerous teeth, and a roaring in her ears blocked out everything else.

Lily felt a sharp tug in her gut, and moments later water appeared from nowhere, dousing the flames licking at the trees and sweeping the horses off their legs. Finding that she could control and guide its course, Lily directed it towards the oncoming creatures, trying to push them back to wherever they had come from. But soon she felt a direct strain on her strength, draining her of energy as she tried to guide the water away from the defending campers.

She refused to release the water, even as the weakness forced her to her knees. Suddenly she felt something pushing at the boundaries of her mind, and before she could fight back, another presence entered her mind.

_Relax, it's me_. Nico's voice sounded in her head, and before she could respond, she felt new energy filling her, slipping into her veins and propelling her back onto her feet. The trembling in her muscles eased as they were infused with a new strength, and she allowed herself a moment to just enjoy the feeling.

_Nico, _she said, _You need to stop. You're going to exhaust yourself – I'm fine now. _

_ Okay. Stay safe. _He closed the connection after sending her one last burst of energy, and she felt a sudden loneliness overcome her, even though he had been careful to guard most of his mind and thoughts from her anyway.

Chiding herself for being distracted while others were getting hurt, she sent one last crushing wave of water at the horses and then allowed the water to run towards the nearby creek in the woods. Drawing her sword, she waited for the next onslaught of their enemies. She didn't have to wait long.

The ground trembled slightly beneath her feet. Giant shapes were making their way slowly but steadily towards them, and she felt a primal fear erupt inside her. Cyclopes. She heard Nico shouting at the other defenders, warning them of what was coming and telling them to hold their ground.

But of course, with their luck, they had more than just Cyclopes to worry about. Lily winced as an unearthly shriek echoed above them, and looked up to see a dark shape flying above them.

"Griffin!" someone shouted, and suddenly the campers were scrambling for cover, searching for protection from the flying monster.

Crouching close to a tree trunk, Lily found herself next to Katie, who was muttering rapidly in Ancient Greek. Seeing Lily watching her curiously, Katie pointed upwards, toward the tree tops, which were elongating themselves, reaching for the griffin. Suddenly one made contact, and with another shriek the creature fell towards the ground, trying vainly to fly with one of its wings broken.

It hit the ground with a thud, an ugly creature with the head, beak, and wings of an eagle, the body of a lion, and the tail of a snake. Snarling, it got to its feet, one wing held close to its body.

Lily even pitied it – until it pounced towards a son of Aphrodite. Before the beak could make contact, the boy speared it with his sword, looking just as shocked at his action as the griffin did.

And then the Cyclopes arrived – a large number of them, brandishing clubs and maces. The undead army Nico had summoned was the first to attack them, followed by campers who were fervently hoping they remembered the days they'd spent training to fight Cyclopes. But the Cyclopes were harder to fight than they'd thought – even though every camper battled their hardest, they were beginning to lose the fight.

Tyson and his buddies appeared, shouting battle cries of "Peanut butter!" and charging the enemy – but five Cyclopes weren't enough to turn the tide. Lily and Katie charged a Cyclops together, Katie tangling his feet up with weeds and grass while Lily hacked at him with her sword. Ducking around his weapon, they managed to bring him down and disintegrate him. Pausing to catch her breath, Lily jumped when someone grabbed her arm.

"Do you remember how to create those shields I taught you?" Nico shouted over the general din. When she nodded, he sucked in his breath. "We need to try this together, okay? I wanted to have time to be able to practice creating shields together, but there's no time. I'm going to join my mind with yours, and we need to put a shield up around the campers and then push it outwards – the energy it contains should fry the Cyclopes."

Without waiting for her response, Nico melded his mind with hers, guiding her with his actions. In moments, a shield appeared around the campers, pulling them away slightly from the Cyclopes they were fighting. The felled griffin lay still on the inside of the shield, not moving. Lily thought the shield they had produced looked beautiful. It was a shimmering, glittering mix of sea-green and black, with flashes of black lightning running through it. Forming a hemisphere, it completely covered the defenders, protecting them from the missiles the Cyclopes lobbed at it.

Lily could feel her strength ebbing rapidly as the two of them struggled to maintain the shield. Since she was too distracted, Nico took over, pushing the shield outwards so that it rammed into the Cyclopes, disintegrating them on contact. The other campers watched in awe as the remaining monsters burst into dust, eaten up by a rapidly expanding hemisphere of black and teal. The moment the last monster was destroyed, Nico released the energy, and so did Lily, who felt slightly dizzy with the effort.

"You okay?" Nico asked, sliding an arm around her to support her and sending her some more of his energy before withdrawing from her mind. "Sorry – it takes some time to get used to the feeling, and I didn't even give you a fair warning."

"I'm fine," Lily said, leaning on him for a moment before pulling away. "Let's go help everyone who's hurt." She moved towards the nearest camper, a small girl sporting a gash in her arm, and bent to talk to her.

Nico went around helping other campers, feeding them ambrosia or calling over a child of Apollo when someone had a bad injury, when he felt a chill creeping up his spine. Suddenly a shrill scream rent the air, and he whirled around to see Lily on the ground, screaming as the griffin's beak gripped her shoulder. Bows twanged as archers shot at the beast, but one shout from Nico disintegrated it instantly.

He ran over to Lily, the blood draining from his face as he saw the blood soaking the ground around her through her broken armor.

"Gods, Lily," he gasped, staring at her for a minute.

"I'm…okay…" she choked, trying to push herself up.

"Get her to Chiron!" Katie shouted, running up. "You can shadow-travel, can't you? What are you waiting for?"

Bending down, Nico scooped his girlfriend up in his arms, trying not to move her shoulder too much, and melted into the shadows instantly, picturing Chiron in his mind. They appeared in front of the centaur at the Big House, and Nico stumbled to a chair as Chiron moved Lily onto a bed, praying to his father that she would be alright.

Down in the Underworld, Persephone was staring in the mirror, watching her reflection as Aphrodite brushed her hair, bringing out the shine in her gold-brown tresses. "Really, Aphrodite, you don't have to. He won't even notice – he's more worried about his son right now."

Aphrodite paused, then laid the brush on the table and began to pile Persephone's hair onto her head. "Why? Is something wrong with the boy?"

"My husband…can sense the future, as you know. He is powerful enough to have the gift of prophecy. And he has sensed that the girl – Lily – may not survive the battle they are currently fighting. He's worried that the boy will not be able to cope with her death."

"She won't die," Aphrodite said confidently. "And before you ask, I know because I know how strong his love for her is. Love like that doesn't accept death – it conquers it. He will find a way out for them both, even if it doesn't seem obvious."

**A/N: SORRY I TOOK FOREVER! Many thousand apologies! Please R&R! **


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N: I don't know why I didn't say this sooner, but somewhere along the way we cleared 200 reviews! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO REVEIWED – I REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE IT! Cookies and brownies for everyone! Your support and encouragement and feedback means the world to me :D**

Chapter 26

Nico, Percy, Jessie, and Annabeth sat in the room next to the one in which Chiron was doctoring Lily. No one else had been allowed into the Big House, although Nico was sure that some sneaky Hermes campers were probably trying. All of them had bandages wrapped around their injuries, but Nico's were the worst. Their side of the camp had had the hardest battle to fight, and those who had fought near Zeus' Fist had been the worst injured.

"Nico," Percy said, his voice hoarse after a near lack of use for the past two hours, "You look like death. You should go sleep a little. I'll come get you in a bit."

Nico shook his head, too tired to talk. His ribs had received a severe battering from the arrows that had struck him, and it pained him to even breathe, although he had insisted that he was fine.

"Just go, dude," Percy sighed. "I know you don't want to leave her, but if she changes any, I'll get you. And anyway, Chiron won't even let us in to see her."

"I don't care," Nico rasped, his throat dry, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, you are," Percy insisted. "Don't make me force you. You're in no condition to fight back right now, and I know it."

Nico glared at Percy and slumped in his chair. Every time he closed his eyes he could see Lily's pale face, hear her screams, feel the blood dampening his fingers as he lifted her light frame. He couldn't leave her.

But seconds later Percy grabbed him and dragged him outside, ignoring the younger boy's tired attempts at resistance. "I'll get you in an hour unless anything changes," Percy promised, and then pushed Nico outside the door of the Big House. "And if you even try to shadow-travel back in here, I will knock you out." And he closed the door.

Nico rolled his dark eyes and turned around to find almost the entire camp standing behind him.

"Who are you working for?" Katie Gardener asked, staring up at him with a furious glint in her eyes.

"What?"

"We know you weren't fighting for us today," Thalia said, her hair crackling with flashes of electricity as she stepped forward. "Katie told us about you. You know fully well that monsters disintegrate when they're dead, but you didn't kill the griffin until after it attacked Lily. And when she was bleeding all over the ground, you didn't even try to help her or get her to Chiron until Katie told you that you could shadow-travel her away! You were just waiting for her to die, weren't you?"

Nico stared at her, his numb mind trying to process what she was saying. They thought he was a traitor, he realized.

"I've always thought that we couldn't trust you," Thalia continued. "Your sister was different – but she's dead, and anyway her behavior has nothing to do with yours. You and your father – wherever you go, you bring death with you. We don't need you here. Lily and Percy are better off without you."

"You're turning Zeus against them too," a tall camper from the Ares cabin interjected. "There's no way he approves of your relationship with Lily, and her father probably doesn't like it much either."

"Leave him alone!" Connor shouted, pushing through the crowd. "You're just a bunch of little liars. Nico's a good guy, and he doesn't deserve –" He broke off as Thalia pushed her spear towards his throat, causing a thin trail of blood to run down his neck.

"Shut up," she said quietly. "You're trying to persuade us to keep a traitor. And a potential murderer – Lily would have died if it wasn't for Katie." She turned to face Nico again. "We want you out, di Angelo. Leave. No one here deserves to have their life jeopardized by you. And if you don't leave, we will kill you. If Lily ever recovers, she will approve of what we've done."

Nico eyed the campers around him. Some looked sympathetic, but Thalia was intimidating and powerful enough to keep them quiet. Others looked apathetic, too, but many were fingering their swords or knives, glaring at him with anger. And he was too exhausted and weak to fight any of them off.

Regretfully, he looked back at the Big House, thinking of the girl lying within it. And then he turned to face Thalia. "You are a liar," he said evenly, his voice so quiet that only she could hear him. "And one day I will prove it. One day you will get what you deserve." He saw her fingers tightening on her spear as she moved to aim at him, but before she could stab him he called upon the shadows to take him away.

He rematerialized in his father's throne room in the Underworld. It was empty, but he knew he was safe. Just as he was wondering what to do next, he began to feel the same chill crawling up his spine that he had felt just before Lily had been mauled by the griffin. Seized with fear, he ran through the hallways, his black Vans landing noisily on the smooth obsidian floors, looking for his father.

Hades was standing idly in the doorway to the garden, watched a light breeze blow through the flowers made of gemstones, when he heard his son running through the palace behind him.

"Hello, Nico," Hades smiled – an expression that made him look younger, more handsome.

"Father," Nico panted, "What's wrong with Lily?"

Hades frowned. He and Nico both knew the girl wasn't dead, but only the father knew what she was up against. "I'm glad you're here and not at camp," he said. "Those monsters had covered the griffin's beak with a poison that is derived from a plant found only in the Underworld. Once Chiron tells them what the poison is, they will think it is your fault – and they already think you're a traitor."

"Is it…dangerous?"

Sighing, Hades placed a hand on his son's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "From what I can tell, the poison is in pretty deep. It's…beyond Chiron's skills, Nico. She may not survive the day."

Nico drew a ragged breath. He had braced himself for the news – his body and instincts as a son of Hades had warned him of this, but the blow still hurt. Hurt incredibly. "Can you heal her?"

"Nico. You have to understand that, as a god, I cannot simply –"

"Please, Father?"

"You'll be fine without her," Hades deadpanned, refusing to look his son in the eye. "In fact, you may even be better off."

Nico sank to his knees, knowing that no matter how much he begged, his father would not give in. Hades could be incredibly stubborn, and when he said "no," he meant it.

Persephone watched from behind a pillar. She disliked the boy – which had been a given from the start – but she also knew how it felt to be in love, even though she would never admit that it was love she felt for her estranged husband. The broken expression on Nico's face touched a chord deep inside her, and for once she felt that she really understood him. But she had steeled herself to walk away and leave it to Hades to handle the boy when she saw something that stopped her – a lone tear sliding down Nico's cheek.

She stormed up to Hades, grabbing his arm and pulling him away, leaving the boy huddling forlornly on the floor. "Hades, what are you doing? Just heal her – I know you can, and it would mean so much to Nico."

"Why do you care?" Hades asked, his eyes flashing. "You hate the boy. It wouldn't make any difference to you. And it's better for him to be separated from her. She's only going to bring him more pain and heartache, even if it isn't intentional. And my son has suffered enough for a hundred lifetimes."

Persephone sighed, wondering how to convince him. "Please, Hades. Please. Have you seen how crushed he is? I know you love him – why won't you help him?"

"I already told you." He turned away curtly.

She walked away, feeling a heavy weight on her heart. Nico was still kneeling where they had left him, but now his shoulders were shaking, and Persephone suspected that he was crying silently.

Stealing by him quietly, she slipped into her own room and closed her eyes, traveling mentally to the room where Lily lay fighting the poison. It only took her a quick glance to determine which poison the girl was suffering from, and she came back to herself quickly. Running into the garden, Persephone dropped to her knees and searched among the smaller plants that grew there until she found a small weed of a vivid green. Plucking it from the ground with deft fingers, she hurried back to Nico, hoping Hades hadn't seen her.

"Get up," she ordered, hauling him up by the shoulder. She winced internally when she saw the pain in his eyes, which were somehow still dry, although she could discern tear tracks on his cheeks. "Take this and get yourself back to the camp somehow. It'll heal her. Chiron will know what to do with it."

Taking his hand, she placed the weed onto his palm and closed his fingers around it gently. He stared at her with a mixture of suspicion, gratitude, and shock. The grass stains on her white dress, she realized, were very uncharacteristic of her. Suddenly she raised her head.

"My husband is coming," she said, speaking rapidly. "He may have seen me – I don't know for sure. Come here." Persephone put her hand on the boy's head for a moment, transferring enough energy into his body to steady the muscles that had been trembling from physical exhaustion. "Now go! Hurry!"

"Thank you," Nico said, still looking slightly dazed. His father rounded the corner just in time to see him melt away into the shadows, his fist closed tightly over something.

"Persephone!" Hades roared, coming towards her quickly.

She held her ground, knowing that he would never hurt her, not even if he was insanely angry. "Yes, husband?"

"Why did you do that? You know I forbade you. And yet you –"

Persephone cut him off, her voice quavering slightly with emotion. "I gave him the antidote because I know how much she means to him, and I don't want to be the one responsible for denying him what may be his last chance to live a life he actually deserves. Of course I don't like him – he's your lovechild, for Zeus' sake! But I can understand him, and therefore I believe he deserves my help."

Hades stared at her with a disbelieving expression. "You can understand him? How?"

She lowered her eyes, unable to hold his gaze. "Because I know how it feels to love someone and have to face the possibility that you may never be able to have the relationship you want with them again. And no one deserves that. Not even the boy who is the byproduct of my husband's infidelity."

Turning, she walked away quickly, her heels clicking sharply on the smooth flooring. Hades looked after her in shock, partly because of the mud and grass stains on her normally pristine clothing, and partly because he had seen tears glimmering in her beautiful brown eyes.

**A/N: Yes, another author's note hehehe. I hope you didn't mind that this chapter is a little bit shorter. See, Lily is not going to die! I would NEVER do that to you all! Please R&R, and tell me if the gods seem a little OOC or not to you – although they probably will be at least a little OOC. Thank you to everyone who favorited/subscribed/reviewed – you guys motivate me to write when I feel discouraged! More brownies for everyone!**


	28. Chapter 27

**A/N: Again, thank you very very very very (you get the idea :D) much to everyone who reviewed or subscribed or favorited! I try to update quickly for you guys especially, but unfortunately now that school and tests are back on, I might be a bit slower than I have been recently. But enjoy this chapter, and the next ones! And thank you again! Have a brownie! **

Chapter 27

Nico had shadow-traveled to Percy's side, and he found himself standing next to his friend in one of the hallways in the Big House.

"Give this to Chiron," Nico said quietly, pressing the plant Persephone had given him into Percy's hand. "Persephone gave it to me – she said it'll heal her. Don't tell him where you got it from; he won't believe you. I have to –"

"Don't leave," Percy ordered. "I can handle Thalia – she's just stressed after today. She'll come around. We know you aren't a traitor, and Lily will want you to be there when she wakes up."

"Tell her I'm sorry," Nico sighed, stepping away. "I can't stay. I'll just make more stress and trouble for her if I do. But I really do care about her – try to make her understand." He melted into the shadows before Percy could protest any farther.

Looking curiously at the green plant Nico had given him, Percy pushed open the door of the room Lily was in and entered, going over to the bed. His sister lay still, her skin pale and her forehead beaded with perspiration. There was a little blood on her lip where she'd bitten it in her fever, and her hair was spread out over her pillow.

"How is she?" Percy asked Chiron, who was standing and watching over her. He sighed inwardly when Chiron simply shook his head, looking pained. "I think you should have this," Percy said, handing Chiron the plant.

The centaur examined it, his eyebrows flying up his forehead as he traced a leaf with his finger. "Where did you get this?" When Percy remained silent, Chiron bunched his eyebrows together, looking annoyed. "Percy, this is a very rare herb that grows only in the Underworld – the gardens of Persephone, to be exact. You got this from your friend Nico di Angelo, didn't you?"

Percy looked calmly into Chiron's eyes. "It's from Persephone." Which was, technically, true.

Chiron nodded, satisfied, and proceeded to send Percy out of the room, telling him that he didn't need him to start freaking out when he saw his sister's wound. "She should wake up in less than an hour, and I'll call you when she does. But it'll be one person at a time visiting her, and she'll get to choose who she wants to see, all right?"

"That's fine," Percy mumbled, walking out of the room. Once outside, he exited the Big House and found an irate Jessie waiting for him. "Hi, Jessie. What's up?"

"Where is Nico di Angelo?" She narrowed her dark blue eyes as she saw him searching for an excuse. "I asked Annabeth and she told me he left. Where is he? Lily will want to see him first when she wakes up, and I don't want to be the one trying to explain to her why he isn't there. And I tried to find Thalia, but she and the Hunters packed up and left earlier…something about a mission Artemis had for them.

"But when other people heard me mentioning Nico's name, they started talking about how he betrayed us all and would have killed Lily if Katie hadn't gotten in his way. I mean, really? What is going on?"

"They're all confused," Percy sighed. "It'll blow over – he's a good guy. He'll be okay."

"I'm not too sure," Jessie said slowly. "I mean, he always comes across as kind of scary. And the aura of death around him definitely doesn't help much. And he isn't the friendliest guy out there unless you know someone he likes. He won't approach people, he has some of the fastest reflexes I've ever seen, and he's powerful enough to make Zeus nervous. I mean, I never really trusted him until he started dating my best friend, and then I had to listen to her go on and on and on about what a great guy he is. And I started to believe her, and then I realized that she was right. But –"

She broke off as the sound of muffled shouting reached her ears. Jessie looked at Percy in time to see a mixture of surprise, sadness, and dawning comprehension appear on his face. Suddenly a window behind her practically exploded as a huge wave of water burst through it, spreading glass everywhere and leaving her dripping wet, although Percy remained dry (curse his parentage!).

"What's going on?" Jessie shouted after him, because he'd already started to rush towards the front door of the Big House.

"My sister has recovered and lost her temper!" He bellowed back, reaching the door. "Find Annabeth and come here as soon as you can!"

He ran through the hallway until he reached the correct room and wrenched the door open to find Lily standing on the bed and looking up at Chiron, who was soaked with water and who was still taller than her. She had a finger pointed at him and an infuriated expression on her face. Percy winced slightly. Lily looked dangerous – even though her jeans were frayed and the shirt she had been changed into was so large for her that her unwounded shoulder was exposed because the neckline had slipped off it.

"Percy! Where is he?" She turned to him, her large eyes widened so that she appeared half-crazed with anger. She was literally shaking with rage, Percy noticed. He wondered nervously when Annabeth and Jessie were going to show up.

"He, uh, he had to go somewhere," Percy fumbled, wishing her gaze wasn't as penetrating as it was. His father seemed to have given her all the wrong traits.

The girl crossed her arms and took a breath, which her inflamed cheeks suggested she deeply needed. Chiron took the opportunity to cut in.

"Lily," he said carefully, "You're very tired and not in your normal state of mind. I'm sure that Nico is perfectly fine, and that he will be back here shortly. Let Percy take you back to your cabin so you can get some rest, and if Nico shows up here I'll send him to you." Chiron was using his most placating tone, and Percy sighed with relief, certain that Lily would either see reason or collapse out of exhaustion – either was fine with him, as long as she stopped yelling at everyone she saw.

Lily, on the other hand, blew a strand of hair from her face in exasperation. The herb that Persephone had given for her had not only flushed the poison from her system, it had also given her a boost in energy. Annoyed by the way the shirt she was kept slipping off her shoulder, she tugged it up and turned her glare back to Chiron.

"I know for a fact that he isn't just on some mission, and I know he isn't _perfectly fine_," she snarled. "I heard Percy say something about him getting threatened by Clarisse before Annabeth closed the door and told him to shut up because she thought I was asleep. So stop lying to me and tell me why you lot thought it was okay to kick him out of here! He's had a bad enough time without people getting on his case randomly for no reason at all! If you guys can't –"

The door banged open and Jessie and Annabeth rushed in.

"Lily, calm down!" Jessie shrieked, jumping up onto the bed so she could fling her arms around her friend. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Lily returned the embrace, burrowing her head into her friend's shoulder. "Where is he, Jessie? Why won't anyone just tell me?" She whispered her question, softly enough that no one else could hear.

"If you'll let me spend the night at your cabin, I'll explain to you there," Jessie whispered back. When Lily murmured an affirmative, the daughter of Apollo pulled away. "And what are you wearing?" she asked in a normal tone. "Come on, let's get you into some normal clothes, okay?"

"That's…it?" Percy asked in disbelief as Lily let Jessie lead her down from the bed. "Are you for real right now?"

"Unless you want her to go into banshee mode again, shut up," Jessie advised, heading for the door. "Percy, you need to find somewhere else to spend the night. We're having a sleepover. Why don't you hang out at the Athena cabin? Kick everyone but Annabeth out, have a nice time…" She giggled and ducked as Annabeth swung a punch in her direction.

Twenty minutes later, Lily was showered and dressed in a warm, comfortable pair of pajamas – or rather, black sleep pants and a purple tank top, while Jessie was wearing a huge orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt that was apparently Will's and dark blue sleep shorts. They sat on the floor, leaning against one of the bunk beds.

"Okay, spill," Lily ordered. "What happened?"

"Well," Jessie sighed, "First you have to promise not to go on a rampage after I tell you, okay?" When Lily nodded, Jessie continued, albeit reluctantly. "So, I wasn't actually there, but I heard this from Isabelle, who found out from Connor, who was there and almost got his head taken off by Thalia when he tried to stand up for Nico. She and Katie and a bunch of other people are convinced that Nico didn't kill the griffin properly because he was waiting for it to attack you, and that he didn't take you to Chiron right away because he was waiting for you to bleed to death first. And because the poison you were under was from the Underworld, that only strengthens their belief in that."

"That's so stupid! He was in shock – that's why he didn't get me to the Big House right away! And he didn't kill the griffin properly, but neither did anyone else! So in that case almost anyone could be a traitor. And no one even noticed it wasn't really dead – as long as it wasn't trying to kill us, no one cared." She lowered her eyes to the ground, twisting the material of her tank top between her fingers. "Why did he leave, though?"

Jessie knew it was a rhetorical question, but she answered anyway. "Because he wasn't strong enough to fight them off, and they were threatening his life. It was a survival move. I heard about what you guys did together – that black and sea-green thing. Impressive. But it must have taken a lot of energy –"

"Yeah, he gave me a lot of his," Lily interrupted, her eyes misting over with nostalgia.

"Exactly. And then, he had to kill the griffin, summon his zombies, shadow-travel you back, fight for his life, and he himself wounded too. I saw the bruises on his stomach and chest, and they were HUGE. Black and blue and the size of his fist, or bigger. I don't know why he told Chiron he didn't want any medical help. I think he just wanted to make sure you would be okay."

Lily sniffled, and Jessie sighed. She had known the emotional breakdown was going to come soon after the physical one, but not so soon.

"It's going to be okay," Jessie murmured, letting Lily cry on her shoulder. "He'll be back soon, and he'll want you to be okay and in one piece, okay? So you can't fall apart on us now."

"He had no right to leave," Lily said after a while, drying her tears and sitting up. "Why couldn't he just go to Percy – he would've helped him! Everyone here is dead scared of my brother when he's angry. He shouldn't have just walked away! And what about me? Did he think I wouldn't want him to be here? Does he even care that I almost died? And –" She was starting to raise her voice again, and Jessie hastened to interrupt her.

"Lily, just shut up." She gave her friend the no-nonsense glare until Lily closed her mouth and leaned back against the bed. "First of all, you have got to stop being so moody the minute something goes wrong in your life. I understand how torn up you are about him leaving, but we'll find him and drag him back here – it's not like he's dead. And if the other campers don't want him back, you can threaten to drown them. They'll shut up. I can guarantee it."

"Sorry," Lily mumbled after an awkward silence. "It's just – well, my father is supposed to be a bit moody, and I think I inherited that. When things go wrong or I get stressed or worried, I go from shouting to crying to shouting, and I don't really know why. They're just really extreme mood swings – it's like my defense mechanism against life."

Jessie started laughing. "It's okay, I shoot things or play my electric guitar really loudly when I get nervous. Will had to wrestle my bass from me once to get me to stop because he swore he was going to wind up deaf and because I had burns all over my fingers from playing too hard for too long."

"Burns?"

Jessie began explaining how playing a bass could lead to getting awful burns, and the earlier tension seemed forgotten as they drifted from one topic to another.

**A/N: Aaand another chapter is done! Stay tuned for more, and please please please review for me! I love to hear what you have to say! **


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Nico lay back on his bed, his eyes closed as Leave Out All the Rest blared from the speakers of his iPod dock. His chest rose and fell as he took short, shallow breaths; the pain from his abdomen prevented him from breathing normally. He was in his room in his father's palace in the Underworld, even though Hades didn't know he was there yet. Or rather, he hadn't gone to talk to his father – Hades had an unnerving tendency to know everything.

He stood up and pulled off his torn shirt, standing bare-chested in front of the mirror to examine the damage done to his chest. Nothing was broken, but the skin was painful to even touch, and his forehead was hot. Great.

Absorbed in his thoughts and pain, Nico didn't notice the door open quietly.

"You look awful," Persephone said from behind him. She stood a few feet away, and Nico noticed suddenly that she was shorter than he was. Somehow she'd intimidated him so much that he'd never realized.

"I'm fine," he said, picking his shirt up from the floor only to have it disappear in his hands.

"Try this," she said, handing him a white shirt instead. It shimmered with faint gold hues when it caught the light, and was soft to the touch.

Nico pulled it on, and saw something change in the goddess' eyes as she watched him. She seemed sadder suddenly, overwhelmed by a nostalgia that he recognized in her eyes only because the mirror had shown it to him so often in his own. It was the nostalgia triggered by loss.

"Sit," Persephone said, seating herself on the plushy chair opposite the bed. Rearranging the folds of her long white dress, she fiddled with its sweetheart neckline until Nico sat opposite her. "You…you remind me of a man I used to know," she began, in the tone of someone remembering happier times that could never be renewed. "He was…cold towards others, he pretended to be indifferent to pain and sadness and suffering. But he was a kind, caring man, and he showed me that side of him. But I didn't want him – I had prospective relationships with others at that time, and…" She trailed off, choking slightly.

Nico stared at her. The goddess was making less and less sense to him all the time. What made her think he would want to hear about her relationship with other men when she constantly cold-shouldered his father?

"By the time I realized I loved him, it was too late," she whispered, her eyes fixed on something in her hands. "He closed up, and began to have relationships with other women. And I could never get him back, no matter how much I wanted too. And I was too scared of rejection to really try." A tear fell onto her dress, darkening the white material slightly. "That man…was your father, Nico."

His head jerked up at her last sentence, his eyes widening. Persephone loved his father? "I thought you hate him," he said, his voice a little hoarse. "He definitely thinks you do."

"I know," she whispered, her voice dangerously shaky. "He…he gave me this a long time ago, when we were first married." Her right hand opened to reveal a beautiful and dainty ring. The band was platinum, with diamonds all along its length. The main stone was a diamond – tastefully cut, and neither too large nor small. Two slightly smaller sapphire stones flanked it. "Beautiful, isn't it? It was a promise ring, one of fidelity and love, but the enchantment on it is binding, and I didn't put it on when he gave it to me. I didn't love him then, and now…I don't know what he'll think if I wear it. He probably thinks I threw it away."

Nico leaned forward, admiring the sparkling stones. "It is beautiful," he agreed, his mind going back to his girlfriend. She would have loved the ring – it was just her style.

"This is for you," Persephone continued, pulling a small box apparently out of thin air. "I had it made secretly, and it's the same thing, except there is no binding charm on it. It's just to symbolize your relationship with her, and to make her feel beautiful and loved – which she is. Give it to her when the time is right." Taking the boy's hand, Persephone placed the black velvet box in it, closing his fingers over it before moving away.

"And there's something else I wanted to tell you, before I remember that I don't like you very much. Don't make my mistakes, Nico. If you love someone, fight for them. If you would die to save her, then you should be prepared to do anything to keep her. She loves you – don't wait for her love to turn into indifference and hate. Don't do what I did. You don't really deserve a life full of regret."

Nico stood as he watched her head towards the door, wanting to say something but not sure how. "He loves you," he blurted out, just before her hand closed over the doorknob. She paused, turned and gave him a small, sad smile, and walked away. The door shut softly behind her.

Staring at the box in his hands, Nico noticed a slip of paper underneath it. _Cabinet next to your bed, second shelf from the top, black vial_, it read. The handwriting was a smooth cursive – Persephone's, he guessed. Following the directions, he found the small black vial and hesitated only slightly before taking a gulp of its contents.

The effect was immediate. The skin on his abdomen burned, but the feeling quickly subsided, leaving an absence of pain behind. Lifting his shirt, Nico blinked quickly to make sure he wasn't dreaming. The bruises were gone – the drink had healed him completely. Making a mental note to thank Persephone later, he flopped back onto the bed and closed his eyes, his fingers still closed tightly around the little box in his hand.

Back at camp, Percy and Annabeth were hiding behind Zeus' Fist, trying to angle a small wave of water Percy was producing to create a rainbow. After shouting at Percy about angles and geometry for nearly ten minutes, Annabeth managed to create the "perfect" angle.

"Hold it there," she ordered, flipping a drachma through the rainbow. "Iris, accept my offering and show me Nico di Angelo."

The rainbow shimmered, the water gurgled gently, and then the drachma came hurtling back towards Annabeth. Percy caught it before it could hit her forehead, and released the water, which created a miniature tide pool around their feet.

"Damn it," Percy muttered as Annabeth stared at the puddle in disbelief.

"Did Iris just reject our message?" she asked, looking shocked.

"Yup," Percy said, willing the water into the ground and out of Annabeth's shoes. "What do we do now?"

Annabeth sat down on a rock, rubbing her forehead. "We…uh…" She looked up, an idea sparking in her gray eyes. "Call Mrs. O'Leary and get her to take us to Nico. She can find him, can't she?"

"Are you sure? He might not appreciate getting his territory invaded like this. Maybe we should just wait for him to cool off."

"Positive. Or…you know, instead of me, I think you should take Jessie with you. She knows what Lily's going through better than I do, and she'll be able to make him understand. And I think he likes her more than he likes me."

Percy groaned. "Okay, but what if he gets really mad?"

Pulling him down so he was next to her, Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy's neck. "Then you have to tell him that I refuse to live a life without my boyfriend, and that if you don't come back to me in one piece, I will hunt him down and make him miserable. And my mother will help me if I ask her to – everyone's scared of her, isn't it wonderful?"

They spent the next few minutes saying a passionate goodbye, after which Annabeth wiped the lip gloss off Percy's mouth and ran off to find Jessie, while Percy closed his eyes to summon the world's friendliest hellhound.

Nico had been designing a new sword for himself when he heard a loud crash coming from outside. He shadow-traveled towards the noise and swore loudly. Percy, Jessie, and Mrs. O'Leary were tangled together in a large heap – Percy was actually squished underneath the hound, but Jessie seemed to be relatively okay sitting on the huge dog's nose.

After Nico managed to get Percy out and Jessie down, he sent Mrs. O'Leary away to play with Cerberus and stared at the two new arrivals. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk to you," Jessie said. "Is here okay, or…?"

"Definitely not," Nico said. "My dad will explode if he finds you guys here – he never really liked Percy, and I doubt he has any idea who you even are, Jessie. But you guys only have half an hour with me max, and then you have to leave. Agreed?"

"Sure," Percy said, glaring at Jessie when she seemed ready to argue. "Let's go wherever we need to."

Nico shadow-traveled them into a secluded corner of Persephone's garden. His father would never expect him to be there, and Persephone rarely came here – she preferred the little pond surrounded with flowers that she had created.

"Okay, what were you thinking?" Jessie demanded. "Do you have any idea what kind of state Lily is in right now because of you? She keeps alternating between yelling her head off and crying her eyes out every ten minutes and it's driving me crazy. Was it really that hard for you to stay for her? You were the first person she wanted to see when she woke up, and she went absolutely mad when she found out you were gone and why." Jessie paused for breath, and Percy decided to cut in.

"Just come back now, Nico," he said, trying to be persuasive and suspecting that he was failing at it. "All she really wants is to see you again, know you're okay, and…well…whatever you guys normally do."

"Make out," Jessie snorted.

"Whatever," Percy said. "Come on, Nico. You can't hide away forever. We know you aren't a traitor and that you'd never try to harm or hurt any of us; I'll explain it to the others. We can make this okay, but you have to let us, buddy."

"You can't," Nico sighed, running a hand through the silky hair that Lily loved to play with. "They're never going to trust me because of who I am. It doesn't matter what you say, or who else agrees with you. It's just true, and you know it. Because my father is Hades, because I can kill any of them with just a snap of my fingers, because I scare them and because I'm not like them, they won't ever accept me. I'm not like them – I don't need other people to accept me to survive. I'm fine on my own – all my father's children know how to be loners. It's something we inherit from him and the treatment he's received at the hands of your parents. I'm not saying it's your fault, but it's something you can't fix. Not until other people learn to see us with their eyes open.

"Tell her I'm sorry, and tell her I really do care about her. I hope she'll understand that I can't come back – and that my decision is for her. She'll be happier and safer if I'm not in her life. If she's with me, people will constantly talk behind her back, distrust her, avoid her. And I have a bad track record with relationships anyway. Every person I've ever loved, ever cared about, has ended up dead. I don't want that to happen to her too." His voice broke a little, and he turned away, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths.

Her eyes full of pain, Jessie put a hand on Nico's arm. "Nothing is going to happen to her, Nico. Not with you there to take care of her – and she is pretty powerful on her own, you know. It's not like she needs babysitting."

"She might," he said angrily, turning to face her. "Zeus killed my mother, Jessie! If he gets irritated enough by our relationship, what if he tries to take Lily from me too?"

"Your father and mine won't stand for it," Percy answered. "I know my father hasn't met her in person yet, but I'm sure he cares about her. He won't let Zeus fry her for no reason."

"You never know," Nico said coldly, "And I refuse to take that chance. I love her enough to let her go."

**A/N: It's a little sad, I know, and I'm sorry about that. But the story will take a happier course soon! Please read and review – and thank you very much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! **

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	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Seriously, that's sweet and cute and everything, but you need to get a grip," Jessie snapped after a moment's shocked silence. "She doesn't need or want you to hide away, she needs you to be with her! She freaking almost died! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" She huffed angrily when Nico remained silent and grabbed Percy's arm. "Let's go, Percy," she ordered. When they were both seated on Mrs. O'Leary again, she glared at Nico. "You're being a coward," she shouted, and then she and Percy and the huge dog vanished.

"You shouldn't have said that," Percy groaned when they arrived in the woods at Camp Half-Blood again.

"I'll say what I want," Jessie retorted, "And besides, it was true. He is a total coward."

"No, he isn't," Percy snapped. "You haven't seen the kinds of odds he's willing to take on for the people he loves. He's just scared of losing someone again – that's called being human, not being a coward."

"He isn't a human," she said as she walked quickly though the woods with Percy trailing behind, "He's half god. Half Hades. Half major, powerful, über-scary god who could blast us all to pieces in a second. And he probably can too. He has no reason to act like some sort of pathetic weakling." She turned to face him, standing at the very last line of trees. "And you know, I want to know why you didn't try to force him to come back. It's your little sister's heart he's tearing into pieces, you know. And you're letting him do it! Why?" Without letting him speak, she said, "You know what, don't explain it to me. You can explain it to Lily when she turns into a heartbroken puddle of tears. At least I tried. I care about her enough to."

Jessie stormed into the Apollo cabin, leaving a frustrated and confused Percy Jackson standing alone in the middle of the cabins.

"Percy!" Annabeth ran up to him and flung her arms around his neck, pulling out of the kiss seconds later when she realized he hadn't responded to the touch of her lips on his. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"He wouldn't come back," Percy sighed. "Jessie is furious because I didn't force him to, and Lily is going to either bite my head off or dissolve. And I don't know which I'd prefer."

"Of course he wouldn't come back," Annabeth said, fighting a smile when the confused look she loved worked its way back onto her boyfriend's face. "Come on. You know Nico. You know the kind of life he's had, the kind of things he's experienced and dealt with. All you needed to find out is why he won't come back – besides the fear of losing her, obviously. Now we have to get them back together somehow, and the first part of that will be getting the people here to accept him. And to realize that he would never try to get us all killed."

"Sounds easy," Percy said sarcastically, staring into her swirling gray eyes.

"Remember what I told you, Seaweed Brain? Things are never going to be easy – and I am not going to make them easy. But the thing is, that's what makes them worth it in the end. And their relationship will be stronger for having been tested, just like ours was."

"Our case was different. You were worrying about Luke instead of worrying about me!"

"You're cute when you're jealous," she giggled. "But I love you. You know that."

Lily watched them kissing from the window of her cabin, a heavy feeling settling in her stomach. Nico hadn't returned – that much was obvious from the pained expression on Percy's face when he had first arrived, as well as Nico's conspicuous absence from the scene – and her life. She sighed, stepping away from the window and letting the floaty white curtains drift back into place.

"Let it be, sweetheart," a musical voice said from behind her.

Shocked, Lily whirled around to see a gorgeous woman smiling happily at her. "Aphrodite?"

"Oh, you remembered!" Aphrodite giggled with delight before walking to the mirror to examine her reflection. She pulled at the hem of her sequined pink dress unhappily, trying to tug it down. The dress was so short that Lily nearly thought the goddess was wearing a shirt as a dress, although Aphrodite's figure was more than up to the challenge. "Is this too short, Lily? Hmm. I think it is." She snapped her fingers and the dress elongated, ending a few inches above her knees. "Much better."

"Uh, I don't want to be rude, but what are you doing here?" Lily was wary of the goddess still, especially after Percy's story about how Aphrodite had happily told him that she was going to make his love life quite difficult for him. The last thing Lily wanted was Aphrodite trying to make the trying situation between her and Nico even worse.

"I just wanted to talk," Aphrodite replied unconsciously, whipping a pink L'Oreal lip gloss out of nowhere and spreading its contents lightly over her mouth. "And you have time, don't you?"

"Percy might come back any minute," Lily mumbled, wondering if he really would.

"No, I think he's quite busy at the moment," Aphrodite said with a tinkling laugh. "I've made sure that he and his girlfriend will be quite busy for…a while." She seated herself gracefully on Lily's bed and patted the space next to her. "Sit, Lily."

Lily sat, suddenly conscious of how terrible her rumpled v-necked shirt and yoga pants must look next to Aphrodite, who looked like a movie star.

"So, is there anything you want to tell me – or ask me?" Aphrodite asked, crossing her legs and ankles. She raised an arched eyebrow when Lily remained silent. "Well, let me start, then. I can tell you're feeling angry, betrayed, and hurt because your boyfriend has, in your opinion, ditched you after you saved his life and then nearly died. Correct? Then, you feel worse because you think you understand where he's coming from – that he's staying away because being in a relationship with a son of Hades is a huge stigma to carry in our world, and because he's scared of losing you. And then, you're scared because you're starting to realize you may even be in love with him, but just when you needed him around so you could judge the depth of your feelings, he vanished and left you hanging on a thread from a cliff, so to speak."

Shocked, Lily stiffened as one stunningly accurate phrase after another spilled from the goddess' shimmering pink lips. "How…what…?"

"Don't be shocked, darling," Aphrodite smiled, patting Lily on the head. "I am the goddess of love. I know how to interpret these things. And you don't have to be all shy about it. He's a young man any girl would fall for if she knew him as well as you do. And don't worry about how you don't know every little thing about him or his past. He's a good man, and that's all you need to know for now. Everything else will come with time."

"That's easy to say," Lily mumbled quietly. "But if he doesn't ever come back, then nothing is ever going to work itself out, is it?"

"Who says he won't come back?" Aphrodite asked, sounding shocked.

"Does it look like he's going to? Even Jessie and Percy couldn't persuade him to come back – do you really think that he will? I don't."

"Haven't you ever heard that pretty little saying: 'If you want to see the rainbow, you have to look through the rain'?" I think it's quite applicable in your case. But first, before I tell you anything else at all, you need to trust me. I know you don't right now – probably because Percy told you some…interesting things about me. But I don't usually try to make things difficult – it's only when I'm in a diabolical mood, and I was when I met your brother. But I helped everything work out smoothly for him in the end, and besides, his case was very different from yours. I don't want to make you sad, but love is difficult in itself, so I can't promise sunny skies all the time. But I can give you a little advice, if you're willing to take it."

Lily gave a little choked laugh. "Right now, I'll take anything, if you can help me fix this."

"But there isn't much to fix, sweetheart," Aphrodite sighed, blinking her large eyes. "Firstly, your brother and your friend failed to bring him back because they don't really understand him – they sympathize, yes, but they can't possibly even begin to comprehend how he feels. Most people can't. He needs a little time and a lot of persuasion, but not the way they tried it." She cupped the younger girl's cheek in her hand, smiling sadly. "I wish I could say something different, but I honestly cannot foresee how this is going to work out. It may take time, or you may make up today. Your futures are being clouded from me, and I think it has something to do with your fathers, who probably don't want me meddling in their children's lives."

"What would you do?" Lily fought back the tears that were threatening to escape the confines of her eyes, refusing to cry in front of Aphrodite. She'd cried too much recently anyway.

"With men," Aphrodite said dreamingly, "You have to remind them who's boss once in a while. He may be faster and stronger and taller than you, but you have his heart wrapped around your little finger – or even a strand of your hair. If you twist it, he'll come running to you."

After a little pause, she stood up, unraveling her tall and slender frame. "And try wearing some…sexier clothes," Aphrodite advised, winking when Lily looked completely shocked. "With guys, it's always helpful – especially if you want his attention."

"He isn't even here!" Lily protested. "How is me wearing something outrageous going to help?"

"Just because he isn't here doesn't mean he isn't keeping an eye on you," Aphrodite said cryptically. "He'll notice. Trust me. And besides, jealousy is invaluable. Talk to that what's-his-name…mmm….Chase! Talk to Chase a little. You never know. And one more thing – try to talk to Persephone a bit. She's more powerful than she looks, especially because of who she's married to. She may be able to help you."

In a rush of the scent of crushed rose petals, Aphrodite vanished, leaving Lily sitting alone on her bed. She sighed, looking at the picture of her and Nico taped to the wall behind her bed. She was laughing at the camera, which Jessie had been holding, and Nico had wrapped his arms around her from behind, smiling at the back of her head.

Getting up from the bed, she rummaged through her closet and pulled out jeans and a t-shirt, which she slipped into before pulling a brush through her hair and stepping outside, with her sword tucked safely inside her knee-high boots.

Avoiding Percy and Annabeth, who were making out passionately in the center of the cabins, she headed for the arena, where she found Clarisse hacking angrily at a dummy.

"Clarisse! Want to practice with me?" she called out.

Panting, Clarisse nodded and motioned her over. "Let's start," she said, grasping her double-handed sword firmly and crouching. They sparred together, gasping for breath and ducking and weaving through each other's motions, unable to gain the upper hand.

But ultimately, Clarisse won, largely because of her superior physical strength. She smashed through Lily's guard and swept her sword point to the smaller girl's throat.

"Wow," Lily panted, collapsing to the ground and dropping her sword. "You are amazing."

"You're not bad either, cupcake," Clarisse said, drinking large gulps of water and sitting down next to Lily, who was still sprawled on the ground, her chest heaving. "You just need to build some more muscles. You're way too small to fight long bouts. You'd better finish your opponents off fast, or you won't have much of a chance. You'll get tired faster than they will."

Chris appeared in the doorway, and Clarisse stood, grabbing her sword. She noticed the wistful look in Lily's eyes and sighed. "Listen, Lily," she grunted. "Di Angelo isn't a total idiot. He'll be back. Don't beat yourself up over it. He likes you too much to stay away for long. If he isn't back in a few weeks, I'll knock him out and drag him here. Just don't get too emotional over him, okay? Sometimes boys are totally unreliable."

**A/N: I'm so so so sorry for not updating sooner! I will try my best to update fast, I promise. And I apologize if this chapter was boring, but it took me practically a full week to write it. I don't know what's going on. Please review! **


	31. Chapter 30

**A/N: Sorry about the wait! Thanks for being patient – here you go! **

Chapter 30

A few days had passed since Nico had left her, and Lily found herself slowly adjusting to spending her days without him. At first she had moped around, sulky and sullen, often yelling at anyone who even spoke to her. But Jessie had managed to pull her out of her bad mood, after several shouting matches and one extremely loud incident involving an electric guitar and a very annoyed Chiron. Will had gotten irritated too, especially because Jessie had ended up nearly breaking his amp and guitar by losing her balance while jumping around on the roof of Cabin Three playing the loudest rock songs she could think of.

Lily was sitting on her bed, French braiding her hair and threading it through with a shiny blue ribbon, when a knock on the door jerked her out of the lethargy inspired by listening to Somebody's Me by Enrique Iglesias over and over.

"Hey – you braided your hair like I did yesterday!" Jessie exclaimed, walking in and plonking down on her friend's bed. "Are you coming tonight? Isabelle finally agreed, and Annabeth promised not to turn us in."

"I still don't think camping out on the beach is a good idea," Lily argued. "What if the harpies eat us?"

Jessie flopped backwards so she was propped against the pillow and waved a sheet of paper at her friend. "Permission from Chiron – provided that we kick Leo and Chase out before ten o' clock. He's going to make sure it's just girls, and if we've followed his directions, he'll tell the harpies to go hunting somewhere else. He's paranoid as heck."

Lily giggled. "For good reason. You and Leo are as mushy as…as…"

"Not nearly as bad as Isabelle and Chase. If he tries to serenade her during the middle of the night one more time I will punch him. Hard."

"Leo will get him first," Lily chuckled, stretching her arms above her head. "Remember that time he nearly brained him with his hammer when he interrupted him in the middle of something he was building?"

"Festus, not 'something'," Jessie corrected with a smile. "He found, named, and is trying to fix that stupid dragon. He's obsessed. It's almost scary."

"It's good that he can focus like that, though – especially on an abandoned project that he found by accident in…what was it? Bunker Nine or something? And who knows – it might even end up being really useful for us someday."

"Okay, sure, but Happy the dragon? I don't approve of his naming abilities. It should be something more…dragony."

"So, when you two grow up and get married and have kids, he won't get to name them?"

"Heck no," Jessie responded instantly, and then her expression shifted to a slightly shocked one. "Wait – who said we're getting married?"

They were both laughing loudly when the door opened again, and Isabelle stuck her head in, looking worried. "Lily, I have something to show you, but, uh, you might not…Jessie, you should stay." She sat on the bed too, and pulled something out of her sweatshirt pocket. "This might be a shock," she warned, "But Annabeth and I thought you should hear it from us rather than someone else. And she wanted to be here too, but Chiron insisted that she hold archery practice right now. So she sent me, and she'll be here soon."

Nervously, Lily and Jessie leaned forward to look at the photographs Isabelle laid out carefully on the bedspread.

"Damn," Jessie hissed after a moment. "That two-faced, two-timing son of a –"

"Shut up," Lily snapped. She looked back at the pictures, pain swirling in her gut. Nico was standing with another girl in a park somewhere, their bodies intertwined and his mouth on hers. The other girl's face couldn't be seen in any of the three pictures, but she had a slender, shapely figure and long brown hair, which Nico's hands were tangled in.

"How can you tell me to shut up? Him being a coward I was willing to let be because I figured you wouldn't appreciate me bringing up his absence every two minutes, but he's cheating on you! Being totally unfaithful! And how did you get this pictures?"

"Connor and his brother were out 'looting,' he said, and afterwards they were at Central Park, where they caught him. Travis took some pictures, but Connor took them from him and made him promise not to say anything about them. He gave them to me, and, well, yeah." Isabelle shifted uncomfortably, glancing sideways at Lily. "You know, it did occur to Annabeth and me that he's doing this just to force you to move on, because he's convinced that he will just make your life miserable. I –"

"It doesn't matter," Lily interrupted, her voice flat. "He's made his choice, and I'm making mine. We're over." She stood up and handed the pictures back to Isabelle. "Thanks for telling me. We should probably find a tent and everything for tonight."

She walked out, her back straight and her body visibly tensed, leaving Jessie to stare openmouthed at Isabelle. "That's it? No explosion?"

Isabelle shook her head. "I think she's already at least halfway over him. If she gets another boyfriend now…"

"Chase is still interested, I think," Jessie whispered. "Should we talk to Percy? Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid to get even?"

"No," Isabelle said decisively. "It's her choice, and it's her love life. And besides, if he has managed to convince her that she may be better off without him, it's not our place to try to prolong the agony of their relationship. Yes, they had fireworks, but maybe they need to move on? I don't know."

"We'll figure something out. And why is she looking for a tent? Did I forget to mention Leo made one for us all? And it's really tricked out, too. You should see it. But we have to find her first – she doesn't even know where to start looking for a tent."

They walked out into the sunshine, scanning the grounds for Poseidon's daughter.

"What worries me is how Nico might react if she actually does get another steady boyfriend," Jessie sighed. "He's very temperamental, and powerful enough to be pretty damn scary when he wants to be. What if he decides that he didn't really want to break it off with her and that he still likes her?"

"Then there's going to be a problem," Isabelle answered, shading her eyes against the sun. "But I doubt that'll happen. I'm sure he thought this through before he made his decision."

"But are you sure he did it just to drive her away because he thinks he'll hurt her? What if he's really been cheating on her, or he fell for some other girl he saw at the park and decided to start a relationship with her before ending the one he had with Lily? You don't really know what he was thinking, or why he's doing anything he is doing." Jessie ducked as a badly-aimed basketball rebounded off the backboard and came flying at her head. "I think he's about as reliable as Lily with a bow and arrow – and she sucks at archery."

"Connor!" Isabelle called out, waving at her boyfriend across the volleyball court. She jogged up to him and flung her arms around him in a tackle hug, causing him to stumble backwards slightly. Jessie laughed, dragging Isabelle away from him a few minutes later.

"Come on already," she groaned as Isabelle struggled with her.

"Fine," Isabelle sighed. "Oh, there she is! LILY! WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A TENT IN THE STRAWBERRY FIELDS?"

Down in the Underworld, Persephone stared at Hades in disbelief as he finished giving orders to one of the Furies – she could never remember which was which – to make sure Nico stayed away from Camp Half-Blood. She cringed slightly as she remembered how furious he'd been when he had found out that Nico had gone to Central Park, which was too close to the Camp, and Lily, for Hades to be comfortable.

"That isn't really necessary," she said disapprovingly. "You're his father, not some sort of overprotective –"

"Enough," he said sharply.

"I haven't even begun! And it's about time we had a proper conversation with each other – there's too much we've been avoiding for too long."

"Talking to you isn't high on my list of things to do," he snarled caustically, "And that list is extremely long right now. Poseidon wants me to help him set up wards around his palace – Amphitrite is furious because Aphrodite's been stopping by to talk to him and she thinks that he may be cheating on her. She went and told Ares, who's equally angry, and on top of that Hephaestus has declared that he couldn't care less because Aphrodite is, according to him, a total –"

"That isn't important!" Persephone jabbed a finger into his chest, her temper flaring at his tone. "You are my husband – I should be more important to you than your brother's unfaithfulness! Especially when I stood by you all those years when he didn't even talk to you!"

"You _never_ stood by me," Hades hissed. "You were a wife in name and nothing else, and you know it. Don't even get me started. I did my best to make you comfortable here and you never once acknowledged it. Never! It's always been about your favorite dress, how many jewels you had, whether you could compete with your friends for appearances! You never gave a damn about me, and you know it."

"I did! But it took me some time, and when I finally realized how I felt, you'd retreated into a shell like a turtle! How was I supposed to tell you I love you when you wouldn't even look me in the eye? When you would leave a room the moment I entered because you couldn't bear to see my face?"

She stopped for breath, slightly shocked at the words that had spilled from her mouth. Had she really just admitted she loved her husband in the middle of a fight?

Hades maintained his perfect poker face, and Persephone's eyes filled with tears as he showed no signs of reacting or replying. Turning in a swirl of her dress, she was hurrying towards the staircase as fast as her heels would carry her when a strong grasp on her elbow stopped her.

"Wait," Hades murmured in her ear, his deep voice sending tingles down her spine.

Hesitatingly, she turned, closing her eyes moments later as his mouth descended onto hers, finally sealing the marriage that had been formalized eons earlier. The kiss was surprisingly soft and sweet, but he ended it quickly, pulling back to look her in the eyes.

"I did mean it," she whispered, her heart beating faster as the ice in his eyes started to melt. She reached up and kissed him again, lingering on every touch. It was better than she had dreamed of – his passionate temper had translated smoothly into a different kind of passion.

"You could have told me long ago," Hades said, smoothing her tousled hair back from her forehead.

"I never thought you'd listen," she breathed, burying her face in his chest.

"I love you," he rumbled gently. "I will always listen to you."

**A/N: WOW! I just finished this chapter, and realized that we're up to 281 reviews! Can we make it to 300? Pretty please? I know the story is taking a different turn in terms of mood, so please tell me what you think. And also, just as a feeler, would any of you be interested in a sequel to this story? Please tell me if you would read one, because that will affect how I write the plot, characters, and conclusion of this story. All thoughts and comments are appreciated! And thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and subscribed. Love ya! Cockapoo xxxx**


	32. Chapter 31

**A/N: I am so totally wowed right now. There was a huge response to my last chapter – thank you so much! We cleared 300 reviews! Thank you so so so so so much! And it looks like there will be a sequel to this story! Anyway, here is the next chapter. Thank you again – cookies for everyone who read, reviewed, subscribed, and favorited! And brownies too – I make better brownies than cookies anyway. **

Chapter 31

Nico was back in his room in the Underworld – except this time, he was grounded. His father hadn't been happy with him for giving him the slip and sneaking off to Central Park, especially because he'd thought that Nico was going to try to meet Lily again. Hades hadn't yelled at him, though, and Nico suspected that Persephone had something to do with it, although he hadn't seen her since he'd returned.

Rubbing his thumb along the edge of his knife and listening to the slight hum that emanated from the blade when he touched it, he closed his eyes, wishing that he'd met Lily at the park. Instead, he had met Drew – and he shuddered when he remembered the cloyingly sweet taste of her bubblegum lip gloss, which had taken him nearly twenty minutes to rub off his mouth. And her perfume. Gods. Though undoubtedly designer, it had been so strong that he had nearly been unable to breathe. He'd kissed Drew the moment he'd seen the Stoll brothers there, because he had expected them to tell Lily and try to convince her to continue living her life without him in it. Drew had been convenient – she had grown her hair out so she was unrecognizable from the back, and she'd been sitting alone in the park when he'd reached. But it hadn't worked for him, even if his girlfriend – ex-girlfriend, he thought with a stab of agony – hated him by now. He missed Lily – her sweet but unobtrusive vanilla scent, her soft hair, her pink lips…

His thumb slipped on the blade, the pain jerking him out of his nostalgia. "Damn it," he hissed, sucking his thumb as blood welled out of the cut.

His dark eyes scanned the room for a bandage, but instead they landed upon a picture of him and Lily that she had given him, smiling and saying that she had the same one with her. He was hugging her and smiling at her while she laughed at the camera – or the funny faces that Jessie had been pulling. He could have stared at her beautiful smile forever, but his throbbing thumb prompted him to stumble out of his room, half lost in his thoughts still, searching for his father or a bandage.

Nico rounded the corner and stopped, staring. Persephone and Hades were sitting on a couch in front of the fire, his arm around her shoulders and her head resting on his chest. They were talking quietly, looking for all the world like a happily married couple.

Clearing his throat, Nico rapped his fist against the obsidian doorframe. "Father?"

"Yes, Nico?" Hades turned his head, keeping his arm around his wife.

Nico raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead, he raised his bleeding thumb. "Do you have a bandage or something around here? I couldn't find one in my room, and this won't quit bleeding."

"I can fix it," Persephone offered, standing. "Here." She ran a finger over his wound lightly and it sealed itself, the excess blood vanishing off his skin.

"Thanks," he said quietly, glancing once more at his father before turning away, disappointed that Hades had not offered to tell the Furies to leave him alone. They followed him everywhere the moment he left his room, and he knew he would never be able to find Lily as long as they were hounding him.

Later that night, back at Camp, Jessie and Leo were sitting inside the tent on the beach with Isabelle and Connor, waiting for Lily to show up.

"She's rarely this late," Jessie said worriedly, pulling Leo's left arm around her waist to look at the watch on his wrist. "It's almost seven – she told me she'd be here by 6:30 at the latest. Should we go see where she is?"

"Let's give her another five minutes," Isabelle said, playing with her orange Ray-Bans and cuddling into Connor's side.

"Maybe she's just watching the stars from her window," Jessie mused. She glanced around at the others' faces and raised her eyebrows. "What? I do it all the time!"

"Yeah, Jess, but you're the only one who does," Leo grinned, tugging her straight red hair and twisting it around his nimble fingers. "Most of us aren't total lunatics."

"Technically, she isn't a lunatic," Isabelle interjected, even as Connor started chuckling. "Lunatic means 'moonstruck' because insane people were thought to be affected by the phases of the moon. But she was stargazing, not moongazing, so unless you want to –"

"Isabelle," Connor said, laughing, "I love you, but shut up."

"Fine," she pouted, smiling when he kissed her.

"I'm cold," Jessie whined, looking sadly down at the white tank top she'd paired with her jeans.

Leo pulled a pair of brown fingerless gloves out of his pocket and placed them in her hands. "Put these on," he ordered, and when she had, he enveloped her hands in his.

"Wow," she breathed, shuffling closer to him. "Why are you so warm?"

"He's the hot dude, remember?" Connor winked at her, grinning when she scowled.

"It's been five minutes," Isabelle reminded them. "I think we should –"

Before she could finish, the tent flapped open and Percy rushed in, his hair windswept and his expression panicked. "Have any of you seen Lily?"

"What?" Jessie sprang up, curling her fingers into fists, grateful for the cloth of the gloves that kept her nails from digging into her palms. "You don't know where she is?"

"I thought she was with you, but we only saw four silhouettes inside the tent, and Annabeth had all the other cabins searched but we couldn't find her."

"Did you check the Hades cabin too?" Connor stood up, reaching a hand down to help Isabelle up only to find her already on her feet with a little dagger in her hand. "Uh…Isabelle? Is that necessary?"

"Better safe than sorry," she said before sprinting out of the tent.

"Well, where are we going?" Jessie asked Percy.

"How the hell should I know?" he snapped. "Why is it these things always happen to me?"

"It could be worse," Leo said soberly. "You could be Nico."

Percy's expression shattered, and Jessie glared at her boyfriend. "Way to be insensitive," she hissed at him, before putting a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Chin up, water boy. She'll be fine – she's probably sitting in the woods somewhere. You are not going to be in the same boat as Nico di Angelo – one life of tragedy is enough for this camp. Let's go find her."

They all stepped out and found Annabeth and Isabelle standing barely five feet away, both clutching their knives (or dagger, in Isabelle's case) in their hands.

"Chiron Iris-messaged her," Annabeth said, taking Percy's hand firmly in hers and willing him to stay calm. "She cut the connection the moment she noticed, but she's…outside of camp, Percy."

"Where?"

"She took Cupcake, and they're flying across the country," she answered, her fingers clasping his tightly. "They're over Illinois right now."

"But where are they even going?" Jessie asked, not sure whether to be angry or worried.

"Los Angeles, of course," Isabelle answered, avoiding Percy's gaze. "The main entrance to the Underworld is there, and in the Underworld is…"

"Nico," Leo finished. He looked around. "Is she absolutely crazy? Why would she even be looking for him when he cheated?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jessie smacked the side of his head when he looked confused. "She's in love, Leo. And apparently she believes in fighting for it. Which is good, but that can't possibly be a good idea. What if they get lost, or Cupcake loses control, or they get attacked?"

"I'm going after them," Percy decided, daring the others to tell him he couldn't with his eyes. "I'll take Blackjack."

"I would offer you Festus, but I'm not done with him yet," Leo said. "But if you want company, fire boy here would love to come."

"No way," Jessie said. "You stay here with that hunk of metal – if anyone else is going it's me. She's my best friend, and if she doesn't want to come back, you'll need me to persuade her."

"We can all go, right?" Annabeth said suddenly. "Two per pegasus – we can take Porkpie and Guido too. Come on, we need to hurry. All three of them are fast and fancy fliers – we should be able to catch up pretty soon. Juniper said she saw someone leaving the stables with a pegasus not too long ago; it was probably Lily. Come on, let's move!"

They hurried to the stables, and took another five minutes to get into the air because Guido was terrified of the way Leo smelled like fire. Blackjack was raring to stretch his wings, and soon after they were racing through the air.

"I hate flying," Connor whimpered, burying his face in Isabelle's hair. He was sitting behind her on Porkpie, who was flying next to Guido and slightly behind Blackjack, who was in the lead with Percy and Annabeth on his back.

"Come on, this is so fun!" Isabelle shouted over the roar of the wind, trying to keep her hair out of her face.

"Tell Lily to keep her feet on the ground next time," he moaned. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Look at Connor," Leo laughed, poking Jessie in the side and grinning even more widely when she squeaked. "He looks terrified."

"Don't laugh at him," Jessie admonished. "If he's scared of heights you should let him be. And you should be worrying about Lily right now, not Connor's expression."

Leo tapped her bare arms, noticing that she hadn't ever put on a sweatshirt. He maintained the rhythm of his tapping, wondering if she'd notice.

"Is that Morse code?"

Ah, yes, she did. "Yup. Two sentences. I love you, and you should've worn a sweatshirt."

"I knowww," she moaned. "Can't you catch on fire or something?"

"Don't even think about it!" Annabeth shouted from the front. "We do NOT want to draw attention to ourselves."

"How did she hear that?" Leo whispered.

"I have ears!" Annabeth yelled. "Just be quiet, Valdez."

A gust of icy wind blew into their faces, and Blackjack whinnied with annoyance as it buffeted his wings, slowing his flight. Without even needing to communicate, the pegasi tucked their wings in and angled into dives, lowering their altitude enough to escape the chilly draft.

_I see something in front, boss_, Blackjack said to Percy, who leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. There was a barely visible blur before them, which, as they approached at a rapid speed, resolved itself into a pegasus and rider struggling to stay in the air.

"There's something there!" Annabeth shouted, loosing one arm from Percy's waist to draw her knife.

Straining her eyes, Jessie noticed a vague shape swooping around the pegasus and the girl on its back – probably Cupcake and Lily, she decided. "There's something around them," she whispered to Leo, noticing as she did so that Cupcake seemed to be panicking about something.

"It might be a Taraxippos," Leo muttered back. "You can get your hand off your sword and start worrying about staying on Guido. It's a spirit thing that spooks horses, which is mucho bad for us."

"Blackjack says not to worry about the Taraxippos," Percy bellowed from the front. "He says he isn't a horse, he's a pegasus, thank you very much, and he and his buddies are much harder to scare than horses. He says Cupcake is probably freaking out because she's inexperienced."

"How did he realize it was a Taraxippos?" Leo wondered aloud. "I didn't think he was that bright."

"Shut up about my boyfriend, Valdez," Annabeth yelled. "He isn't stupid, and neither am I. Let's go in!" Blackjack drew in his wings and dove through the night sky, Guido and Porkpie spiraling after him.

_I'll try to calm her down_, Blackjack called to the other two flying horses. _You dudes see if you can get Mr. Scary Face to leave, will you? Just fly around and flap your wings at him and look threatening. _He paused, listening to Percy, who informed him that the pegasi were extremely un-scary. _Shut up, boss. Let us do our thing. _

"Lily!" Percy shouted, leaning down as they leveled with his sister and her frightened ride. "Are you okay?"

She looked up, her hair flying in her face. "I'm fine, what _are _you people doing here?" She shrieked suddenly as Cupcake plummeted another few feet, her wings flaring open at the last second to keep her aloft.

Blackjack was communicating with Cupcake, trying to calm her, while Leo's flaming hands, Porkpie, and Guido were trying to chase the Taraxippos away.

"We're here looking for you! What were you thinking, running off like that? Where are you trying to go, anyway? We were so worried about you!" He yelped as Annabeth tightened her grip around his waist as Blackjack twisted through the air suddenly to avoid one of Cupcake's wings.

"YES, HASTA LA VISTA, BABY!" Leo screamed ecstatically, waving his still-flaming hands in the air. "Got rid of the bad boy!"

Realizing the spirit was gone, Cupcake evened out her flight path, exhaustedly dropping into a steep dive and crumpling once she reached the ground.

"I'm glad we wound up in a wheat field – no one else is around," Isabelle sighed, hopping gracefully off Porkpie's back and grabbing Connor around the waist when he nearly fell off the pegasus. "You okay, Connor?"

"I'm fine," he said huskily, kissing her as though he hadn't seen her in years. "I hate flying, I hate chasing Tara-whatevers, and I –" He broke off when she kissed him back, groaning slightly. "And I love it when you do that," he smiled.

Percy stomped over to his little sister, rolling his eyes at the couple behind him. "What were you thinking?" he demanded. "Were you trying to find Nico?"

"None of your business," Lily snapped, her hand rubbing circles on Cupcake's heaving neck. "I can go wherever I want."

"No you can't," he said imperatively. "You are going to get on Blackjack and fly back with us right now. Cupcake can't carry anyone – she looks worn out. Let's move out."

"We are not moving anywhere," Lily hissed. She drew her sword, flipping it until it was gripped firmly in her right hand. "Not until we sort this out."

Jessie sneezed loudly from behind them, and Annabeth quickly followed suit.

"Percy, can we take the other three horses and head back?" Leo asked. "We'll leave you two with Blackjack if you want some privacy to talk – Jessie's freezing and I don't think the rest of us are doing much better."

"Go ahead," Percy said, his darkening green eyes fixed on his sister's. "Lily and I need to have a completely overdue conversation right now."

**A/N: Sorry about the loooong wait! I'm moving right now and I won't have Internet until this coming Monday, so I won't be able to update for a week. So so so sorry! But pleeeease review for me! I really do love the way you guys responded so much to my last chapter! And there is more action and everything coming. Please give me your feedback, comments, and everything. Thanks! REVIEW PLEASE I LOVE IT WHEN YOU DO! Cockapoo xxx**


	33. Chapter 32

**A/N: Hi everyone! Again, thank you SO SO SO DARN MUCH for all the reviews and responses and everything I got for the last chapter! I love you so much – thank you for all the love and support! I really super-duperly appreciate it! You guys are so fantastic. Really. Anyway, I decided it's about time we got a glance into Lily's head about where she really stands about her relationship, which is on the rocks, especially since previously all I've really given you is Jessie and Isabelle's conjecturing on how she feels and what she thinks (so don't get confused, please!) **

Chapter 32

Unwilling to spend any longer than absolutely necessary in the rapidly tensing environment, Annabeth and the other two couples scrambled quickly onto the pegasi and soared away, taking an unsteady but determined Cupcake with them.

_I'll just be over here, boss, eating grass and, you know, doing…yeah… _Blackjack snorted nervously and pawed away, retreating a safe distance away from the incensed siblings and waiting for the storm to break. It didn't take long.

"You were trying to find Nico, weren't you?" Percy demanded, staring her down.

"What I was trying to do shouldn't matter to you in the least," she snapped. "It's my business and no one else's. Stop trying to baby me, okay? You can leave now – I'll find my way."

"You are my sister, and you will tell me what is going on here. Get it? I'm not trying to be mean or overbearing, but honestly, can't you see that I'm freaking worried about you? The Underworld is not a safe place, and if you go tramping around without at least me or Annabeth with you, let alone Nico, you might end up in some serious trouble."

"I am not going tramping around anywhere – I know how to take care of myself. I don't need all of you constantly on my back about how helpless and fragile and delicate I am, because I'm not. I can protect myself! I saved Nico's life – he would've been dinner for an empousa if it hadn't been for me!"

"And speaking of him," Percy interjected suddenly, "Why do you even care? Annabeth told me about how he was cheating on you – do you really want a relationship with someone who has no idea about the commitment it takes?"

"Who says he doesn't understand commitment? And whether I want the relationship or not is none of your –"

"Don't tell me it is none of my business," he snarled. "You are potentially endangering the entire camp by running around with him. I didn't care so much before, because he was a good friend of mine and I just wanted to see you both happy, but now that you've been through so much because of him and he's gone and made out with another girl behind your back, I think it's time we looked at this objectively. If you two start a very serious thing, and Zeus decides that it's a threat –"

"How is it a threat? We're freaking demigods, it's not like we can run up there and kill him!"

"Have you not been paying attention? It's a balance of power idea – it's the reason Father and Zeus have always ganged up on Hades! The idea of having three supremely powerful gods was to have them balance each other out, so none could get too influential. But their children and they are not completely separate – they have to at the very least acknowledge our actions, and if you and Nico get all lovey-dovey with each other, Father and Hades are going to most likely argue over the wisdom of letting you be together and then decide that a little puny relationship isn't worth killing the other one's kid over, and from there, they may even end up friends! Are you even listening to me? Do you get what I'm trying to tell you?"

"Has Annabeth been teaching you new words? Because you sound a lot more like her and a lot less like yourself right now." Lily pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed as Percy's expression crumbled slightly. "I didn't mean to say it like that," she whispered. "I'm sorry. But really, I just…"

"You can trust me," he said quietly, giving her the pleading look that she knew melted Annabeth's heart, and that was touching hers as well. "I'm your brother. I won't tell anyone what you tell me unless you say it's okay for me to."

There was a long silence, broken only by Blackjack's soft footsteps and the wind whistling through the sky. Finally, feeling her legs still trembling after the terrifying flight and the subsequent argument with Percy, Lily staggered away until she was out of the wheat field and then sank lightly to the ground, pressing her legs against the cool grass with a sense of relief. She patted the earth beside her, and Percy sat cross-legged, waiting for her to begin speaking.

"I miss him so much," she sighed, surprised at the strength in her voice. "Part of me wants to accept that he's gone and just move on, part of me hates him for what he's done, and part of me just wants to find him and make everything okay. And I can't decide which part of me is going to win. Sometimes I just feel that if I could talk to him, just once, maybe…maybe we can fix this. Maybe we don't have to break it before we even had a chance to explore it." Lily laughed sadly, a short, humorless, pained laugh. "Am I just being stupid? I think you all think that I should move on, find someone else and get on with it."

"I do. You and Nico kind of jumped into it, you know, and sometimes I think that maybe you guys just wouldn't have been able to make it work anyway." Percy ran a hand through his hair, wondering what to say next. "I'm no good at this," he mumbled finally. "I think you should talk to Jessie or someone. But if you find someone else who makes you happy, don't leave him just because you think you and Nico might have been better, okay?"

"But what if there isn't anyone better out there? What if Nico was my only chance, and I blew it? What if we can make it work if we just try harder?" Lily ran her tongue quickly over her lips to moisten them, and in the small interlude she saw Percy stiffen suddenly. "Is –"

Percy cut her off by covering her mouth with his hand. Shaking his head, he glanced at the darkness surrounding them and drew his infamous ballpoint pen from his pocket, his face blanking for a moment. His expression turned panicky. "Blackjack's too far to get here right away," he breathed in Lily's ear. "There's something out there, and I don't think it's friendly. Just be on your guard. He's coming as fast as he can."

Silently cursing the flying horse for wandering, Lily's fingers quickly found the hilt of the sword she wore on a slender belt around her hips. Deftly loosening the thin leather strip tied around the hilt, she grasped it in her hand and stayed still as the combination of ADHD and adrenaline coursed through her veins as her heartbeat sped up. She could hear something rustling in the dark, and she turned her head at every hint of sound.

Wishing Nico was there didn't help Lily's concentration at all, but she couldn't help it. He was an invaluable fighter – skilled and merciless when in battle – and even though he fought with the savagery and strength of a lion, there was no one she felt safer with. The muscles in her hand tightened as she gripped her sword, and she remembered the way the tendons jutted out of Nico's hands, the way the veins stood out from his skin, the way he smiled and ran his hands through his silky hair, the way his beautiful eyes…

She shook her head, trying to clear the memories of him from behind her eyes. Percy stood tensed next to her, alert and ready for a fight.

A roar sounded from behind them, and they whirled around, only to hear the terrifying sound moments later from the direction they had been facing originally. Without saying a word, the siblings repositioned themselves so that they were standing back to back.

"I am an idiot," Percy was muttering. "Total idiot. Seaweed Brain! I should've know better! Two kids of Poseidon, out by themselves, in the middle of the night – it's like we've got a little sign: Monsters! Are you out there! Dinner's waiting for you!" He continued to rant under his breath until Lily jabbed him in the ribs, hissing at him to shut up.

A shape was moving indistinctly in the darkness, something large and definitely unfriendly, if its roar was anything to go by. A few moments of silence ensued, before a bloodcurling screech rent the night sky, followed by a loud hiss.

"Damn it," Percy gasped, his breathing quickening. "Lily, if this is what I think it is, we don't have much of a chance. So the plan is to run and dodge until Blackjack shows up – I don't want to try to contact him now because the monster might show up any second. Run and dodge – and pray maybe, okay?"

"What is it?" she asked, wanting his experience in monster-fighting more than anything else at the moment.

"Drakon!" Percy shouted as an ugly creature loomed out of the darkness before them. "Don't look in its eyes, Lily, it can paralyze! Just DODGE!" He jumped out of the way as the monster sprayed poison at him, the grass upon which it landed shriveling and withering away moments after it was struck.

Lily danced uncertainly on the spot for a moment before the drakon's head turned in her direction, and the ADHD instantly took control of her body. She ducked, dodged, and sprinted as the drakon spat poison at her, taking advantage of its lack of mobility due to its enormous size. The creature threw back its head and roared suddenly, and Lily paused for breath, panting, realizing that Percy had managed to stab it while its attention had been focused on her.

While the drakon turned to search for her brother, Lily scrambled towards its hulking body, raising her sword to strike. But somehow the beast noticed her, and its tail flew out from nowhere, slamming into her midriff and throwing her several feet backwards. Her breath was knocked from her body by both the impact of the drakon's body and the ground, and she lay still, bruised and battered, barely able to draw breath for several minutes. Pain pulsed through her body, but soon she gathered her willpower and shakily stood up, deciding to ignore her wounds and focus on the fight.

Blinking her eyes, she searched the darkness for her sword and soon located it shining faintly on the ground. Snatching it up, she moved towards the sound of Percy yelling and the drakon roaring in response. But her boot struck something on the ground and she fell again, but this time her hands broke her fall. Scuffling around on the ground, Lily found what she had tripped on – an empty beer bottle. Too full of adrenaline to even wonder why it was near an empty wheat field, Lily grabbed it and hurried towards the drakon and Percy, who had moved into the field.

Finding the drakon, Lily tensed the muscles in her arm and flung the bottle at its head with all her might, smiling grimly with satisfaction as it shrieked loudly upon its impact. Something within her enjoyed the heat of battle, the primal need to pound her opponent into the dust using any means necessary.

"Do you have a knife on you?" Percy shouted from somewhere in the night.

Lily ran her hands into one of her boots, pausing when her fingers hit something hard, smooth, and cool. "Yes!"

"See if you can do that energy thing Nico taught you and hit it in the eye with the knife!" Percy yelped suddenly and the wheat rustled loudly, suggesting that he'd taken to his heels.

Doubling over so the tall grain would hide her form, Lily wove closer to the drakon while breaking the barrier to her trove of mental energy. Channeling it into her right hand, she directed it into the dagger and drew back her arm, throwing the knife at the monster.

The throw had been good, but her arm lacked the strength to complete the projectile motion she had desired. The knife fell slightly short, lodging in the beast's body instead of its eye. Frustrated, Lily had been reaching for the energy again to launch a ball of it at the drakon when it turned its mutilated head towards her, its fangs dripping poison. The blade she had thrown at it still glowed with energy, illuminating the monster in an eerie half-light.

It hissed at her, its ugly visage capturing her eyes with its horrifying stare. Something inside her yelled at her to move, to run, but Lily found that those gleaming eyes were holding her in place. Dimly she saw its jaws open, but before the poison could escape its mouth a dark shape spiraled out of the skies and began to attack its hideous head. The power of its stare was broken as its attention was diverted, and Lily snapped into focus again, mentally berating herself for forgetting Percy's warning about its eyes.

The drakon was screeching as the shape, which she realized was Blackjack, pounded its head. She brandished her sword, but before she could get close enough to make any damage, the drakon emitted one last moan of pain and collapsed, an empty shell.

"Thanks, Blackjack," Lily smiled, grateful for the overpowering amount of adrenaline in her blood that was allowing her to transcend the pain her body was in. She would feel it later, yes, but for now, all she felt was relief. Looking around, she realized Percy was nowhere in sight, and fear began to settle into her bones. "Percy? PERCY! WHERE ARE YOU?"

_Stay here, _Blackjack said in her mind. _The boss can't be far. I'll find him_. He cantered away, leaving her beside the motionless hull of the monster. Leaning forward, Lily tugged her knife from the corpse, only to find that the poison in its body had melted the blade, leaving only the hilt itself intact. Grimacing with annoyance, she tossed it away and returned to worrying about Percy.

Hooves sounded behind her, and Blackjack returned with Percy on his back.

"What happened? Where were you – are you okay?" Lily sagged against the drakon with relief, and jolted upright moments later as she remembered what she was leaning on. "Yuck."

"I'm fine," Percy mumbled, groaning when she arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, fine. It managed to hit me with some poison as I was running, and I passed out for a little, but I'm fine now. Really. Get on up here – we need to go back. And if you say anything idiotic at all, like about wanting to go to LA to find Nico, I will knock you out and take you back to…" he trailed off, staring at her. "What in Hades happened to you?"

"Nothing," she said, taking his hand and climbing onto Blackjack. Wrapping her arms around Percy from behind, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, succumbing to her exhaustion. "Just was being stupid. Can I sleep on the way back?"

"Yeah, but please move your head," he groaned over the rush of wind as Blackjack entered the skies. "You've put it down on my burn and it hurts like hell."

"Sorry!" Lily moved her head away from the back of his shoulder and frowned at the spot, trying to discern the wound through the darkness. But her eyes closed in spite of her and she slumped against his back, glad for the respite.

When Lily opened her eyes again, she found herself staring into a pair of midnight blue eyes that were barely three inches away from hers. "Oh my gods!" Lily scrambled backwards in shock, banging her head on the headboard behind her. "Ow!"

"Relax, it's just me," Jessie said, sitting back down on the bed. "Is your head okay? Sorry I scared you – didn't mean to."

"It's fine," Lily said, sinking back into the bed that she now recognized as her bunk in Cabin Three. "Where…?"

"Percy is with Annabeth, and I kicked everyone else out. I figured you and I need to talk some, and Chiron says that your injuries aren't so bad that I can't treat them. Daughter of Apollo and all, you know? You might have to get out of bed for a while so I can fix you up, though. So come on. Up!" She handed Lily glass filled with nectar. "This might help."

"Thanks." Lily downed the drink and smiled as the taste of warm brownies and melty chocolate chips exploded onto her tongue. "I love this stuff."

"Me too," Jessie grinned. "But Chiron wouldn't let me have any. Something about me being too hyper anyway. What does yours taste like?"

"Brownies. Warm, with the chocolate chips half melted. Yours?"

"Yummm." She giggled. "You wouldn't believe mine. It's a combination of Haagen-Dazs ice cream – coffee flavored – and my favorite guitar pick. It's really pretty, too, with like this speckled sea-green color on it and my name embossed in gold at the bottom, but the pick is a new addition. Leo gave it to me recently, and ever since then my nectar tastes of it."

"How does a guitar pick taste of anything?" Lily asked, laughing. Jessie never failed to cheer her up.

"I chew on mine while I'm thinking," Jessie smiled. "And I don't know how it tastes of something – it just does. I can't describe it. But I always have that pick with me. It's my good luck charm." She stood up and walked to a somewhat large drawstring bag that had been sitting on the floor near Lily's dresser. "Are you up?"

"Yes, mother," Lily giggled, standing up. Moments later she let out a little cry and doubled up slightly, her hand pressed to her stomach.

"Roll your shirt up a bit," Jessie ordered. "I need to see how badly damaged you are. Aren't you glad Chiron and Will aren't doing this?"

"Yes," Lily exhaled, biting her lip when Jessie groaned as she saw her friend's skin. Her abdomen was marred by a single bruise, as wide as Lily's hand and a nasty purplish color. There were other scratches on her, but that was the main injury.

"What happened?" Jessie asked, rummaging inside her bag. "It's not nearly as bad as it could've been, and I don't think anything is broken, but…"

"The drakon hit me with its tail," Lily answered, staring down at the bruise. "I got a little too close for its comfort."

"Okay, hold still." Jessie proceeded to apply an evil-smelling ointment that was a beautiful blue color to the wound, and began to sing in Ancient Greek. A few minutes later she looked up, her face gray and tired but her eyes bright. "That's all I can do for that for now, but it should be enough to kick-start the healing quite a bit. The bruising will have reduced considerably by tomorrow morning. Where else does it hurt?"

"Nowhere else," Lily said, and rolled her eyes when Jessie glared at her. "Okay, on my back a bit, but they're all just scratches – nothing you need to worry about."

"Fine," Jessie sighed, sitting back on the bed. "I'll leave you something to take if the pain kicks in, but if it does, you had better come to see me, or at least send Percy to get me. Okay?"

"Deal." Lily sat down next to her friend and pulled a bag of cookies from under her bed. She had baked them a few days ago, and they were her favorites – plain, chewy vanilla cookies, but with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar on top. "Cookie?"

"Definitely." Jessie grabbed a cookie and bit into it, motioning for Lily to do the same. "So, we need to talk, girl."

"About?"

"You, and your problems." Jessie shifted so that she was facing Lily, sitting cross-legged. "Percy said something about you needing to talk to me about Nico – and don't you dare get mad at him, he's just trying to help you – and so I figured I'd better talk to you now. Isabelle said she would have come, except that being the daughter of Athena, she isn't as 'attuned with her feelings' as I am, because she's more logical than emotional. Which I thought was a load of bull, but whatever. So, spill."

"I'm just so confused, Jessie," Lily began, taking another cookie for comfort. "I miss Nico but I never want to see him again. I care about him, but I'm indifferent. I like him, and I hate him. It's like I'm divided, and the two parts of me can't decide whether I want him back or not. And I went out there because I convinced myself that I need him, and maybe if we just talked we could figure it out. But Percy thinks I should try finding someone else, and I just don't know what to do."

"Cookie, please." Biting into another, Jessie frowned. "You know, honestly, I agree with Percy – but for a different reason. I think you should find somebody else, and flaunt the relationship a little. You don't have to make out with him, or even kiss him if you don't want to, but hang around him a lot. You never know – Nico might crack and show up, and you guys might finally get a chance to talk. And if not, maybe that guy will be the one who makes you forget Nico – or if not forget him, at least he may help you move on. You might realize you love someone besides Nico."

"But who?"

"Choose someone who is attractive, intelligent, reasonably talented with a sword or whatever, and someone who would annoy Nico to no end."

Lily groaned. "Jessie! You are not being helpful! All you did is describe yourself."

"Shut up," Jessie laughed. She grinned devilishly. "Have you talked to Chase recently?"

**A/N: So I tried to make it a little longer as my little apology for the dismal update schedule recently. Thank you for reading, I'm so glad you guys stick with me even though I haven't updated in ages – and I do have a reason. I just moved, and I haven't had internet since the last time I updated. So thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed my latest offering. As usual, any comments, questions, or anything random is always welcome. PLEEEASE REVIEW! Thankee muchly. **

**Cockapoo xxx**


	34. Chapter 33

**A/N: Again, I am probably going to be saying this ever single chapter, but THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed and favorited! The amount of reviews I have been getting recently is amazing – it feels like we just crossed the 300 line and we're already nearing 400! I'm so happy that you guys always care enough to tell me what you think! So thanks! :D And sorry for not updating sooner, but here you are! Next chapter. **

Chapter 33

Nico was sprawled in an all-too-familiar position, lying spread-eagled on his bed in the Underworld and fingering his sword lazily. He hated it, but there was nothing for him to do – no one to talk to, no one to play basketball or football with, no one to spar with…it was driving him absolutely, irrevocably crazy.

Grumbling something incoherent about being bored out of his mind and back in again, he turned onto his side and felt something inside him twang painfully when his eyes fell again on the picture of him with Lily.

"Gods, she's so beautiful," he whispered, wishing he could take her in his arms, kiss her and play with her hair one more time. "I miss you, princess – so damn much."

"Talking to yourself – first sign of madness."

Nico jumped to his feet, brandishing his sword simultaneously but dropping it moments later. "Bianca!"

His sister's pale ghost smiled at him. "Hello, little brother. It's been a while, huh?"

"Yeah – forever." He tossed the weapon onto his bed and gave her a smile – something he hadn't done in so long that his mouth felt sore while doing it.

"I missed talking to you," she said, her dark eyes exploring his. What she saw in them made her wish she didn't have to tell him what she knew – all it would do was cause him even more pain. "Nico, I have something I need to tell you."

"I knew you didn't come just to say hi," Nico grumbled. "What is it?"

"You might want to sit down," Bianca warned, pointing to the bed when he remained standing. When Nico didn't move, she sighed. Better get this over with. "Nico – Lily has a boyfriend."

Feeling like he had been clubbed over the head with something blunt but heavy, Nico sank onto the bed. "What?" he croaked. "Who?"

Bianca floated down gently onto the bed next to him, her expression conveying her sympathy. "Chase, I think. Son of Hermes. Tallish, blond hair, brown eyes, dimples, super white teeth, and big muscles."

"Thanks, Bianca," Nico said sarcastically, his voice twisted with pain.

"Oh, come on, don't feel so bad," she pleaded. "He can't hold a candle to you – Lily knows that. Any girl could see that. I mean, he practically tried to force himself onto her not so long ago –"

"Then why did she go back to him?" Nico exploded. "I could see they felt something for each other, but she just sat there and calmly lied to me and told me that they were just friends!"

"Calm down," Bianca ordered, her ghostly form standing up again and rising a few feet into the air. "And learn to think like a girl. She can't have moved on so fast – she was spending too much time with you for that. Think, Nico! She's trying to make you jealous!"

Scoffing, Nico stood up, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his worn black jeans. "She thinks I cheated, Bianca! And if she knew that was Drew I was with, she'd probably never want to see my face again. As it is, I don't think she wants to anyway. And what would making me jealous achieve?"

"Well, for one, it would draw you out of hiding and get you to face her, which is what I would want if that were me. And it just might make you realize how much you really care for her, in the event that you actually did have a fling with someone else. And why were you with Drew? I really wished I was alive when I saw you doing that so I could drag you away from her."

"I knew the Stolls were there, and…I still kind of think that Lily would be better off without me. I mean, there's enough for her to deal with without adding me to the mix. I'm a child of Hades! I'm not supposed to be in love with a daughter of Poseidon! People never trust me, see me as an outcast, fear me! How am I supposed to ask her to deal with all of that just so she can be with me? I'm not that selfish, goddamn it!" He turned to Bianca, fire blazing in his eyes, only to see her smiling ecstatically at the ceiling.

"Yesss!" She punched the air with a ghostly fist and did a little pirouette in the air. "Nico, I'm so happy for you!"

He blinked at her. "What?"

"You've made progress! You just admitted you love her! Oh, you two are so sweet!" she squealed.

Nico stared at her, and then began to pale as he realized what he'd said by accident. "That just…kind of slipped out, okay? I didn't –"

"You did mean it! And don't worry – who am I going to tell, anyway? And now all you have to do is go and talk to her!"

"Are you insane? They don't even want to see my face at camp! I can't just waltz in there! And anyway, she's with Chase now!"

Bianca groaned. "Have you not been listening to ANYTHING I said?"

"Well, I don't even know if you're right! How am I supposed to know?"

"Talk to one of her friends," Bianca suggested after a moment. "I think you should try Isabelle. She's currently at the airport with Connor because she's flying to Germany to visit her mom, who's fallen sick. He'll be leaving her soon, and you can meet her in the Lufthansa lounge. Okay?"

Nico found himself blinking at her in confusion…again. "How the hell do you know all that?"

She gave him a pale smile, one tinged with sadness. "I love you, little brother. I'm always watching over you. And that includes the people you're close to." Bianca vanished, leaving no trace of their conversation except the glistening tear that trickled down her brother's face.

Half an hour later, Nico shadow-traveled into the Lufthansa lounge, raising his eyebrows a little as he materialized in a shady corner. It was a modernistic place, full of mostly businessmen in suits and ties. How uncomfortable. He fingered his black button-down and grinned when he realized how unconventional his worn-out black jeans, Converse, and shirt with the first few buttons open would look in comparison.

He allowed his eyes to flit around the room, searching for caramel hair and a Harvard sweatshirt. Next to the bar, around which most of the businessmen were crowded, there was a large glass fridge with a shiny steel rim, next to which there were several orange balloons bouncing. Intrigued, Nico moved closer, and allowed a small smile to claim his lips when he recognized the braided caramel hair, baggy red sweatshirt, yoga pants, and, of course, the balloons she was holding.

Creeping up behind her, Nico leaned over just as she selected a Coke from the fridge. "Finally over the balloon phobia?"

She gave a little shriek and Nico ducked just as she swung a fist towards him.

"Jeez, it's just me," he said defensively. "Calm down."

"Nico?" Isabelle blinked her dark brown eyes at him and then narrowed them in a dangerous frown. "Come here." She fisted a hand in his shirt and dragged to a loveseat opposite a fire, where they sat down, and she deposited her soda on a little round white coffee table next to the sofa. Behind her head, one of the many modern TVs blared out a report on the latest football game, but Nico ignored it.

"What are you doing here?" Isabelle hissed.

"I just wanted to talk to you," Nico said, hoping she'd understand.

"About Lily? And how heartbroken she's been since you ditched? And I suppose you want to tell me why you were with Drew so I can soften the blow for her? And you want to know why she has a new boyfriend, right? You complete _idiot_."

Nico winced. "Okay, I deserved that. I was with Drew because I just wanted Lily to realize that she's better off without me in her…" he trailed off. "How did you know I was with Drew?"

"Connor recognized her, and he told me. But I thought it would hurt Lily too much, and since Drew isn't at camp anymore – don't look so confused, you should remember her being excited about moving to France – it doesn't matter. And her first insecurities about you sprang up when Drew kissed you – yes, I know about that, Jessie told me after Lily woke up crying after having a nightmare about you two being together – so that was really cruel of you. So now tell me why you're here _exactly_."

"I wanted to know why she's with Chase." Nico eyed her apprehensively – he was pretty sure she wasn't going to give away the information that easily. He was right.

"So you want me to sell her out before I know anything about why you're here? Why do you even care?"

Sighing, Nico reached into his pocket and grabbed his favorite guitar pick, letting the tip dig into his skin slightly. Ever since he'd told Lily he played guitar, and she'd picked up that pick and said it was beautiful, he'd kept the black and turquoise item with him, no matter where he was. "I thought…I thought I would try to get her back, if there was a chance that she would."

Isabelle stared at him for a moment. "She's with him to make you jealous, or because she doesn't care about you. I don't know which. I'm sorry – really," she added, sounding a little more sympathetic than before. "But you should try."

Nico stood up. "If she doesn't care, then I don't think I will," he said. "But thanks for talking to me."

"Not so fast, buddy," Isabelle snapped, standing up as well. "You are going to try to get her back, and you are going to give it everything you've got. Understood?"

"Don't tell me what to do," Nico snarled. "You just told me she couldn't care less, and then you want me to get myself trampled on a little more?"

"I said there might be a _chance_ that she doesn't like you anymore. I also said she could be trying to make you jealous! What do you not understand? Why are you so stupid sometimes?"

"I am not stupid!"

"Yes, you are! Promise you'll try to get her back!" Isabelle tightened her grip on her balloon strings as her eyes bore into his.

"Why are you carrying those around?"

"Connor gave them to me, and he said please, so I couldn't exactly say no. And you're avoiding the question!"

Nico sighed. "Okay…I'll think about it. I'm leaving now – have a nice flight."

He had barely taken half a step away when she launched herself at him, and Nico looked up in shock as he landed hard on the ground to see a blur of orange flying towards his face.

"What are you doing?" he yelled as Isabelle straddled him and began to whack him with her balloons. "Stop it!" Although it didn't hurt too much, the flying balloons did sting a little, and they impaired his vision enough that he couldn't see where the next one would be coming from.

"Promise!" Isabelle ordered, continuing to beat him with her balloons.

"Fine, I promise!" Nico grunted, and sat up as she stood up and withdrew her balloons. "Gods, what is wrong with you? You are totally crazy."

"Well, it worked," Isabelle grinned. "Sorry," she said to the room at large, realizing that men in suits were staring at them from nearly everywhere. "He's my friends boyfriend, and he was being a little stupid, so we had to clear some things up. It's all good now."

Nico glared at her as everyone else laughed and went back to their drinks, newspapers, or cell phones. "Really?"

"Get going, Nico, I have a plane to catch. And good luck. I'll be back soon – you had better have made some progress." She pulled her ticket out of her pocket, but stopped herself seconds later. "Oh, and I think you should talk to Jessie. She can help you – Percy might not be very happy with you right now, so I think you should hold off on talking to him just yet. And Thalia and the Hunters left this morning to go after something in Montana, so you have some time to convince the rest of the camp you're cool without them being there to screw things up. You have more support than you think – most of us know you're a good guy. Okay? So don't give up. And Iris-message Jessie tonight – she said she'll be free for me to message her, but I think you should instead. Tell her I say hi." With a quick wave, Isabelle skipped off towards her terminal so she could argue with the security guard about balloons on planes, and Nico, chuckling to himself a little, backed into a corner and melted away into the darkness.

**A/N: What did you think? Pleeeease review! Thanks! Cockapoo xxx**


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Poseidon stormed through Hades' palace, his fists clenched. "Hades!" he roared. "Where are you?"

"Hello, brother," Hades said calmly, materializing from the shadows in front of Poseidon.

"Explain yourself," Poseidon snarled. "Where did that drakon come from? My children were alone and attacked in the middle of nowhere by an ancient monster! Those types rarely escape Tartarus to go after demigods! I thought you'd said you shut off the flow of monsters escaping! Why were my son and daughter attacked?"

"How should I know?" Hades responded, his voice eerily calm. "I did what I could, and for a while nothing seemed wrong. Everything appeared to be stable, Tartarus was quiet, and I went back to my usual routines. Maybe there's something else we need to look into. I was thinking about it, and –"

"If you've been thinking about it," Poseidon hissed, "That means you've known this was going on! Why didn't you warn us? What if one of my children had died?"

"I wasn't too sure what was going on, and maybe if your foolish daughter hadn't run off in the middle of the night, the entire incident wouldn't have happened! I can't keep track of every monster running out into the world, especially because that's a usual occurrence!"

"Your son is the reason my daughter left the camp. Don't blame her for –"

"I am not blaming anyone," Hades said, his eyes glimmering with barely suppressed annoyance. "But now you know that there is a possibility that someone is agitating Tartarus – and I think it's a god. There's no way Kronos could have reformed quickly enough to have even enough power to facilitate the entrance of more monsters into the world. Someone is definitely meddling, and we need to find out who."

Poseidon nodded, unclenching his fists slightly. "All right. But do what you can to contain them. Any ideas as to who it may be?"

"Yes, but it's just a hunch. If I find anything more concrete, I'll tell you. Now, I have somewhere else to be. So, if you don't mind, I will…"

"I'll talk to you again soon," Poseidon decided, before disappearing in a sea mist just as Hades melted back into the shadows.

Back at Camp, Percy was yelling in pain as Annabeth held him still and Jessie dabbed nectar onto the burn on the back of his shoulder.

"Hold _still_, will you?" Jessie sighed in exasperation. "If you keep wriggling like that, I'm not going to be able to get the middle of the wound, and it'll just take a lot longer for you to heal. Just work with me, okay?"

"Fine," Percy said through clenched teeth. "But hurry up. This hurts."

"I know it does, but I have to do it. Or would you rather Will did it? He's less caring than me." Exchanging a quick glance with Annabeth, encouraging her to keep Percy talking, Jessie stealthily reached for the nectar again.

Percy snorted. "Less caring? Will's a great guy. You're just jealous because he plays guitar better than you."

"Whoa," Jessie laughed, using a soft cloth to press the nectar gently onto the burn. "Aren't I a better guitarist, Annabeth?"

"Sure?" Annabeth asked. "I don't think I've ever heard either of you play, so I can't be –"

"Damn!" Percy hissed, twitching.

"Done," Jessie decided. "Are you always this bad with pain, Percy?"

"I'm not bad with pain," he protested, "It just hurt! Have you ever gotten a burn of a drakon?"

"Why was it there anyway?" Annabeth asked. "I knew we shouldn't have left you two alone! You, Seaweed Brain, are a magnet for trouble."

"But you love me anyway," Percy grinned.

"Unfortunately," Annabeth admitted, laughing as he pulled her close.

Smiling at the besotted couple, who were leaning closer to each other, Jessie tossed the bare-chested Percy his shirt and walked out the door. Dawn was breaking over the horizon, and Half-Blood Hill was silhouetted by the rising sun. She'd been doctoring Percy every few hours, trying to make sure the wound didn't get infected and that the poison would be flushed from his system as quickly as possible. She winced slightly as she remembered how terrified Annabeth had been when a barely-conscious Percy and a sleeping Lily had returned. The girl had freaked out, although later she had berated her boyfriend for being stupid enough to demand to be left alone in the dark in the middle of nowhere.

Yawning, she was near the door of the Apollo cabin when she heard a voice calling her – a very familiar voice. Turning, Jessie saw an Iris-message floating behind her, with an all-too-familiar Italian boy calling her name.

"Quiet," Jessie ordered, running towards the woods so that no one else would be able to see the message, which bobbed along after her. When she'd made sure she was safely hidden in the trees, Jessie turned to Nico again. "Yes?"

"I need your help," Nico said, knowing that she wouldn't agree that easily, and wishing that she and Isabelle were less similar.

"What, you want me to help you separate Lily from Chase? Don't answer – I know that's what you want. But I'm not doing this over an Iris-message, okay? Use your shadow-travel and get over here. Then we'll talk."

"Fine," Nico groaned, closing his eyes and envisioning the secluded spot in the woods where Jessie was standing. Moments later he melted out of the shadows next to her. "Why are you in your pajamas?"

"Because I was in bed when Annabeth comes running in at like three in the morning scared out of her wits because Percy's in pain – like on the floor having spasms kind of pain. What she was doing with him at three don't ask me." Jessie crossed her arms, staring straight at Nico. "Why?"

"I miss her."

"Not good enough," Jessie said, her midnight blue eyes boring into Nico's dark ones. "I am her best friend, and I refuse to put her through a repeat performance of what just happened. So give me a good reason, or you'd better leave, pretty boy."

Nico crossed his arms, resting his fingers on his biceps and feeling the muscles tense. For a few moments he seriously contemplated blasting the impudent girl in front of him into a little puddle. Then he considered just leaving. And then he remembered that Jessie wasn't normally this rude or annoying – and that she was just protecting someone she cared about because she wasn't sure if she could trust him. And he could fix that.

"I love her."

Jessie paused, fingering her red hair. "Okay. I think I believe you – you blushed enough that I don't think you're lying." She giggled suddenly, punching the air with her fist. "Yes! I was hoping this would happen!" Her face became suddenly solemn, and she gazed up at Nico with a slightly worried look. "Sorry about calling you 'pretty boy,'" she said. "It just slipped out. I didn't mean that."

"It's okay," Nico said, glancing around as the sky lightened considerably. "But is this –"

"Don't talk, just listen to me," Jessie ordered. "You can explain everything about that other girl you kissed later – if at all. First of all, you need to shadow-travel yourself into your cabin, and stay there. No one has been able to get in since you left, and yes, the Hunters did try. We stopped them, though. You'd be surprised how many people here like you. And the entire Apollo cabin is behind you – not really sure why, but now isn't the time to complain. I think it's because the Hunters said they didn't like our poetry the last time they were here. Anyway, you stay in your cabin, I will explain to mine that you're here, we'll scout out Percy and Annabeth, and set up a meeting in our cabin, okay? I'll Iris-message you when you need to show up. Once we get the rest of the camp convinced that you're a good but misunderstood guy, and they quit trying to string you up the moment they see you, we'll work on you and Lily. Sound okay?"

"I don't really think that you need to make such a big deal about everything," Nico said, not really liking the idea of drawing that much attention to himself. "I mean, you don't need to plan out an invasion or something, right? I don't think we need to do anything much, as long as –"

"You don't understand," Jessie said, pulling him a little further into the shadows of the trees as a few early risers began to emerge sleepily from their cabins. "There are some people here who won't do anything unless Thalia is here – she really doesn't like you, buddy. Maybe it's because her father hates Hades so much, and I'm starting to back Annabeth's theory that the gods' liking or disliking each other can affect their respective children's relationships. And some people in the Ares and Athena cabins especially get affected by that. Clarisse, for example, is really mercurial about it – isn't that a great word? I learned it from Isabelle the other day. Anyway, sometimes Clarisse thinks you're a valuable fighting machine, and some days she just hates you. We need people to stop thinking you're a monster, just because you're more powerful than they are."

"You talk a lot," Nico muttered, rubbing his forehead with one hand.

"Okay, well, get going." Pushing him away, Jessie moved a few feet away before turning back to him again. "And, Nico? Thanks for coming back for her. She's really been miserable without you. Just thought you should know." Not waiting to watch him blush, turn pale, and then vanish, Jessie jogged towards Cabin 7, admiring the way the gold it was made of glinted with and appeared to even generate sunlight.

Grabbing a change of clothes from her bunk once inside the cabin, she changed and then headed towards Cabin 3, stopping suddenly when she realized she had nothing to actually say to her friend. Shrugging, she stepped into the Poseidon cabin, gazing with wonder at the abalone walls, which seemed to echo of and reflect the sea.

Percy's bunk was empty, so she stepped towards Lily's and shook her sleeping friend. "Lily, wake up," she murmured. When her words elicited no response, Jessie rolled her eyes and grabbed a pillow from a nearby bunk. "Get up!" she ordered, whacking Lily with the pillow.

"Jessie, go away," Lily mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing here? It's just past six! Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Patting her messy hair down, Lily scrambled out of bed, snatching her sword up from her nightstand.

"Put that down, I'm fine," Jessie smiled. "I just wanted to talk – and I'm pretty hungry. How about we get something to eat and then, well, I have something I want to ask you."

"You've been asking me things ever since…" Lily trailed off, nostalgia misting over her aquamarine eyes. She sighed. "…Ever since Nico left."

Jessie raised her eyebrows slightly. This was the first time Lily had used Nico's name since he had left her – she was making progress in getting over him. Hopefully she hadn't forgotten how to love him yet, Jessie thought. "It's nothing to do with Nico," she smiled, crossing her fingers behind her back. "I just was wondering how you and Chase are doing together. You've stopped telling me things! We used to trade stories all night, and now I don't even know what you're up to!"

"I just haven't had much of a chance to talk to you, and everything's been really…strange," Lily answered, sitting on the bed again and pulling Jessie down next to her. "Have a cookie – we might be here a while, and you look really tired. How long have you been up?"

"I had to get up in the middle of the night because Percy was in pain – don't panic, he's fine now! Relax," Jessie said hurriedly, trying to calm her friend as she saw shock, fear, and guilt cross Lily's face. "He's totally fine – he'd not been getting any rest because Annabeth was still with him, don't ask why, and his exhaustion was helping the poison get to him. I've been getting most of it out, but it's slow progress. Drakons are nasty creatures."

"They are. Ugly, too," Lily added, laughing. "I'm glad he's okay – I was going to see him but I didn't know how to face him – it's my fault he got hurt anyway, even if he says it had nothing to do with me, and –"

"It isn't your fault, and you should go talk to him sometime. He gets lonely in the Big House, but Will and I won't let him leave until he's better. There's a full medicinal cabinet in there, so if he relapses or something it'll be easy to treat him. And Annabeth's been staying up with him all night because the pain is so bad he can't sleep sometimes. I've got him on painkillers, so he's better, but go visit him. You two really need to talk anyway." Jessie shifted her position, grabbed a cookie from the stash under Lily's bed, and leaned forward, twirling a strand of straight red hair.

Lily took the hint, and, hugging her knees to her chest, smiled sadly at the floor. "It's okay with Chase, I guess. It isn't anything fantastic, and there's no fireworks or butterflies, but it's a start – and that's what I need to get over Nico, you know? I just need a distraction, something to get my mind off him. And then eventually I'll find someone else, who doesn't run away every time he has a problem."

"He isn't a coward," Jessie frowned, wondering just how Lily felt about Nico, because the girl was making less and less sense.

"No, he isn't – and he's a wonderful guy, but I can't help it if he isn't here for me anymore, can I?" Lily fought back tears and reached for a cookie, wishing even the memory of her former boyfriend wouldn't evoke such a reaction from her, while Jessie was secretly jumping for joy on the inside. Nico di Angelo had a chance.

**A/N: So sorry about the tragically late update, everyone! But THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the reviews, favorites, and subscriptions I got! I love hearing from you all – please tell me what you thought! :D**


	36. Chapter 35

**A/N: SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY ABOUT TAKING FOREVER TO UPDATE! You all have my sincerest apologies. All I can cite for an excuse is school. Sigh. And prom. Sigh. And drama. BUT please enjoy my latest humble offering to you all! OH and thank you for all the lovely reviews! We've cleared 400! YAAAY! :D :D**

Chapter 35

A dry twig cracked under his foot as he walked towards the deepest pits in the Underworld – the pits of Tartarus. A sardonic smile twisted his lips as his boots scuffed the dry, dead earth, and his fingers rested lightly on the scabbard of his sword. His footsteps echoed as his confident stride raised small puffs of dust. The fires from the Fields of Punishment blazed so far away that they were small specks of dull redness in the darkness, but Hades' palace provided enough light for the area to be barely visible.

"Tartarus sleeps," he whispered in awe, as the pits seemed to be complete silent – a place of death, not restless slumber. "Hades did his job well – but not well enough." From his hand a small flame burst into life, its red glow suffusing his palm. Whispering in Ancient Greek, he watched the flame grow redder and redder, before enclosing it in his fist and tossing it down into the deep slope of the pit before him.

"Control that, Hades," he said softly, watched its glow dim as the flame fell down the pit – a feat that only a god could have achieved. And a god he was. Chuckling quietly to himself, he backed away into the darkness and vanished, leaving no trace of his visit behind him.

Meanwhile, back at Camp Half-Blood, Jessie had returned to her cabin after breakfast to talk to her cabin, confident that they would support the idea of Nico returning – she hadn't yet mentioned that he was actually back – but she'd received a huge shock. Moments after she'd asked if anyone was against his return, Jamie, one of her half-sisters, spoke up.

"I don't think he should come back," Jamie said pensively, absentmindedly rubbing her finger along the bow of her cello. "Hades isn't welcome on Olympus, and his son isn't welcome here – it just makes sense. I mean, hello? They represent fear and pain and death – I don't know if that's someone you want for your best friend. And he's heartless! Look at the way he just dumped his girlfriend and ran off. And besides, every time he's here for a longish period something bad happens. Last time it was the Titan war, and this time we've had monsters attacking from everywhere."

"And he may really have been betraying us and trying to get us killed," Scott, another Apollo camper, added. "You can't trust Hades, or his kids. They freaking started World War Two – maybe he's trying to get the third going! More deaths would increase his and his father's domain and power, right?"

"He isn't as bad as you think," Jessie snapped, taken aback and more than a little disappointed.

"Yeah, he's a pretty nice person," Will interjected, sending Jessie a sharp look as a warning not to get too angry. "I thought most of you agreed that he was!"

"That was before he ruined Percy's sister's life," another girl, Hannah, responded, staring fearlessly at her older brother. "I mean, we all thought he was so great – he isn't bad looking either, which was even better, but then he just left and I heard a rumor that he was cheating on her, which was when she decided they were over. Who does that?"

"You guys aren't getting it!" Jessie shouted in frustration. "He's a good guy who messed up – but everyone makes mistakes! Why can't you forgive his?"

"Because some things you just can't forgive," Scott said, trying (and failing, in Jessie's opinion) to look intelligent while saying it.

"Please. It's not even like you and Lily are so close that you hate him for making her feel bad. Does this have to do with Thalia?" Noticing the way her siblings' expression closed off a little as she mentioned the name, Jessie frowned. She glanced at Will, who shook his head at her slightly.

"Fine. I have somewhere to go – I'll see you guys later. Think it over, okay? Thalia's opinions aren't law. You don't have to do everything she says just because her dad is sitting behind her shoulder with a lightning bolt. What if Hades decides he doesn't like you, and you wind up burning in the Fields of Punishment afterwards? Think about it." Deciding she'd scared everyone enough with the possibility of burning in hell for eternity, Jessie stepped outside, letting the door slam behind her. It was time to see just how the land lay in the rest of the camp.

Lily, that evening, decided that she couldn't avoid Percy any longer. Slipping through the door of his room in the Big House, she found a smile curling her lips upwards as she watched Percy and Annabeth engaged in a silent, intense game of chess. Stealing quietly towards the rug and fireplace, Lily stood behind Annabeth's shoulder, marveling at how neither of them noticed her, and watched.

Percy's face was twisted in concentration, but occasionally his eyes would slip from the chess board onto the little box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates next to them. Both he and Annabeth had a little pile of wrappers next to them, and Percy was halfway through unwrapping his next when Annabeth laughed.

"Checkmate," she announced happily. "Oh gods, I am so stiff!" Stretching her arms out, she stood up – and noticed Lily. "Hi, Lily! Did you see that move?"

"I bet she'd been setting me up since we started the game," Percy mumbled, popping the chocolate into his mouth for comfort.

"Well, I needed a de-stressor, and playing chess with Percy kept us both entertained," Annabeth said.

"Speak for yourself," Percy muttered, earning himself a light slap on the cheek. "Lily, how have you been? It's been a while."

"Yeah, Percy, listen…I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, and it was my fault that we were even out there in the middle of the night alone…I didn't –"

"Shut up," Percy advised. "I know it wasn't your fault, I am not mad at you, and I am well enough to be out there fighting…whatever needs to be fought. But _Annabeth_ thinks that –"

"Stop moaning, Seaweed Brain, you know you're better off here than being all antagonistic outside. That wound did not look like it was going to heal easily, and I don't even know how it treats you at night because Chiron won't let me stay in here with you."

Percy smirked. "There's a reason for that, Wise Girl."

Before Annabeth could respond, Lily cut in. "How about I stay with Percy tonight? Our cabin is empty anyway – I can bring a sleeping bag in. Is he allowed to take a walk outside?"

"He can answer for himself," Percy grouched. "Yes he can. And he will see his girlfriend tomorrow morning, okay?" Pulling Annabeth over, he gave her a quick kiss, grabbed a sweatshirt, and led the girls out the door.

"Bye Annabeth," Lily said. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, "Thanks for letting me steal him. I just haven't talked to him in a while, and – "

"I get it," Annabeth smiled. "And make sure he tells you about what I told him this morning, okay? Just prompt him – he'll know what to tell you. I think you should know. Bye!" The blonde ran off, her hair cascaded down her back and glimmering with the light of the setting sun.

"So," Percy prompted her as they wandered by the edge of the trees, "How are you and Chase?"

"Fine," Lily deadpanned, her hair swinging forward – whether because of the light breeze or by the slight movement she made with her head, Percy couldn't tell – to hide her face. "He's…he's nice and everything, but I can't…"

"Can't what?"

"He tries, and so do I, but I can't forget that he isn't –"

"Lily!" Chase jogged up, his sandy hair flopping over his forehead and his brown eyes sparkling with the fading sun. "I – oh, Percy. Hi."

Percy smiled. "Hey, man. Okay, how about I give you two some time together. Lily, I'm gonna go see G-man and go back to the Big House. I'll see you there, alright? Have fun, you two. Chase, don't try anything."

Lily watched her brother walk away, wondering why he'd left so quickly. Whenever she'd been with Nico, he'd been hesitant, even unwilling, to give them even a few moments alone. But a hand on her shoulder jerked her out of her reverie.

"Hey, you okay? You look totally lost."

Brushing nonexistent hair from her face, Lily smiled nervously. "I'm fine! What…"

"Just felt like saying hi," he smiled, his dimples winking at her. Lily felt discomfort awaken in the pit of her stomach as Chase drew closer, his arm wrapping around her. She lowered her eyes, painfully aware of the absence of even the faintest blush on her cheeks.

"Are you sick? You're really pale." He ran a hand over her cheek, sliding it across her face to tangle in her hair.

As he leaned in, Lily stumbled back out of his arms. "Hey, Chase, I actually wanted to spend tonight with Percy – it's nothing personal, I just haven't seen him in a while and I thought I should –"

"It's cool," he responded, smiling down at her before glancing away – and his gaze seemed to fixate upon something else. Following the direction of his eyes, Lily saw Hannah, one of Jessie's sisters, walking towards the Apollo Cabin. Chase's cheeks were slightly flushed and his eyes sparkling even more than before – even if he wouldn't acknowledge it, it was obvious to Lily.

"I'll see you later," she said quietly before walking away. He didn't respond – in fact, he didn't even seem to have heard.

"You're back," Percy said when she walked in. He was lounging on a pouf in front of the fire, already dressed in the green sleep pants and black muscle shirt he wore to bed. "How'd you two split up that quickly?"

"He has a crush on Hannah," Lily announced, sitting on the floor next to him. Moments later Percy slid down to join her.

"He told you?"

"No," Lily laughed, marveling at the question. "But it was obvious. He was staring at her as if he'd never see her again."

Eyeing her warily, Percy asked, "But…I mean, he's going out with you. Don't tell me you're okay with that."

"I am, because…Percy, can I tell you something? Honestly?"

Her brother scoffed, sliding his arm around her shoulders. "What do you think I'm here for, Lily? Decoration?"

"I miss Nico."

Silence. Percy withdrew his arm from her and shuffled around so he was sitting across from her. "You what?"

"Please don't make me say it again," Lily whispered, twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands before looking up. She instinctively cringed as she saw Percy's expression – his green eyes were flashing, and his right hand was clenched around something in his pocket, probably Riptide.

"Come on, Lily, you already have a new boyfriend!"

"He doesn't like me – he doesn't care about me that much! He's just dating me because I'm Poseidon's daughter and your sister, it's a political thing for him! I know he likes Hannah, I saw the way he was staring at her, it was how you stare at Annabeth and Nico –" She broke off, the tendons in her neck standing out as she drew in deep gulps of air.

"Okay, calm down," Percy advised, passing her a bottle of water and waiting until she'd taken a sip. "But I think you're better off with Chase, you know? At least you can have a normal life and relationship. Every time you're with Nico either one of you almost dies or there's a bunch of drama going on."

"You and Annabeth had a bunch of drama too! She said you two couldn't stop fighting and making everyone around you nervous or miserable!"

"This is different," Percy snapped, too angry to even register the way Lily flinched. "I supported you two the first time around because I thought he deserves a chance at happiness, but after he blew it so badly, I don't really think he does. If this happened to Jessie, you would tell her to give up on Leo and find someone else, right? And besides, the son of Hades…I don't know if you want to be in a relationship with him. What if you have a fight, and he loses his temper and accidentally kills you?"

"Percy, just shut up. You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I do! Do you think either our father or Hades was happy when you two got together? Don't you know you guys are powerful enough yourselves to screw things up badly if you end things on a bad note?"

"Things can't end any worse," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You are way too attached to that relationship! I'm not an Aphrodite kid, but even I can tell you that! You weren't even together for that long, and it wasn't like you loved him! And I'm pretty sure he wasn't in love with you. So quit holding on to something that's already gone." Percy frowned as he watched Lily's expression – it was crumbling in upon itself, as if his words had sparked a realization. "Lily? You didn't love him, did you?"

Lily fixed her watery aquamarine eyes on his green ones, her lips opening to speak, when a door slammed somewhere. Their heads snapped around, her hand flying up to dry her eyes and she drew her sword with the other, and Percy approached the door, Riptide elongating in one hand. But before he reached the door, it swung open.

"Freaking hell," Percy muttered, tightening his grip on Riptide.

**A/N: What did you think? PLEEEEASE REVIEW I love to read them! They motivate me and make me happy, and clearly I'm not above begging for them. So please take the time to drop a review! Thank you! Over and out. **


	37. Chapter 36

**A/N: Wow. All I can say. You guys gave me so many reviews – I was honestly floored. THANK YOU SO MUCH you guys! You are totally wonderful, and I am so grateful to have you all as my readers and reviewers. So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU – I know I say it every time, but you guys deserve it. Cookies for everyone! Here's the next chapter. **

Chapter 36

"Hi, Percy," Nico di Angelo said, grinning at his friend. "Long time no see."

Percy smiled and pulled Nico into a hug. "Hey, man, how are you?" He looked around suddenly and dragged Nico into the room, making sure the curtains were closed. "Does anyone know you're here?"

"Jessie, but she won't tell." Nico's eyes met Lily's, but Percy quickly stole his attention.

"What're you here for? Everything okay? Do I need to call Annabeth?"

Lily raised her eyebrows, wondering why Percy was ranting about why she shouldn't date Nico one minute and acting as if he had no problem with him the next. But she didn't have more than a few seconds to reflect on her brother's strange behavior.

"No, she's already here," Annabeth smiled, walking in the door. "Thought I should check on you. Hi Nico!"

Nico smiled and nodded, but Lily frowned. He was looking taut, strained, but somehow she knew that he hadn't come here just to talk. Something was definitely wrong.

"Okay, Percy, something _is _wrong," Nico said quietly. "I need to talk to you guys – Annabeth, you too. I know what you've been worrying about, what you told Percy, and you're pretty close to the mark. There is definitely something wrong both on Olympus and down in the Underworld – and nobody is going to tell us what."

"Someone's waking Tartarus, right?" Annabeth asked, narrowing her eyes and leaning forward slightly. "My mother hinted at it, but she just vanished right after that. Did Hades tell you?"

Nico scoffed. "My father? He never tells me anything unless I know it already. But I'm not stupid, and I sleep a lot less than people think. Just don't need it. So I was exploring the Underworld and I lost my balance while shadow-traveling, and I ended up outside of Tartarus, and there was definitely someone leaving just when I got there – and he dropped something inside the pit. So I don't know who it was, but there's someone there. And we need to figure out who."

Sighing, Annabeth bit her lip. "Are you sure? I mean, yeah it's interesting, but I think our parents can handle it. If someone up there is deranged enough to try to wake Tartarus, we know what they're after, and honestly, I don't want to get involved. Once was more than enough."

"What?" Lily asked, and rolled her eyes when they all stared at her. "Maybe you all know, but I feel completely out of the loop right now. What're they after?"

Percy looked at her worriedly. "I kind of forgot you were here – you need to leave, Lily. Right now."

"What?" Lily stared at him. "How can you forget me? And I am going nowhere. Answer my question, please."

"He's right, Lily," Annabeth said in a placating tone. "You're too young for this, you weren't mixed up in it in the first place, and you don't have the experience for this one. Jessie was saying she was going to IM Isabelle tonight and ask her how she's doing – go join her. She's down near the lake somewhere."

"I'm not going! Nico –" Lily faltered as her gaze met his, but she hardened her jaw as his impenetrable dark eyes fixed themselves on hers.

_Go_, his deep voice said inside her head. _I'll tell you later. They won't let you stay – I can tell. _

_ Fine_, she snapped, and stomped outside.

Heading towards the lake, Lily felt herself slip into attack mode as she heard heavy footsteps following her. Curling her hands into fists, Lily kept walking forwards, and just as her pursuer caught up to her, she whirled around and punched him in the face.

"Damn, Lily! It's me!" Chase held his nose as blood spurted from it.

"Chase! Oh, I'm sorry! Let me see." Pulling his hands away from his face, Lily winced when she saw the damage she'd done. His nose was clearly broken. "You should go see Will, this looks bad. Do you want me to come with you? I'm so sorry!"

"Yeah, will you come? That way I can explain how this happened without looking like a sissy." Chuckling through the pain, Chase pinched his nose with one hand and took Lily's with the other. They hurried to the Apollo cabin, Lily trying to quell her disgust at Chase's bloody hand holding hers firmly.

"Hey, Will, we need your help," Lily said as the head counselor of the cabin opened the door. "Chase was sneaking up on me and I didn't realize it was him and I punched him, and his nose might be broken. Can you fix it?"

"Yeah, come in," Will grinned. "I can fix you up."

Several minutes, groans, and orders from Will to hold still later, Chase was sitting on Will's bed with plaster on his nose and no trace of blood anywhere.

"Jeez, buddy, it can't have hurt that bad," Will laughed. "I guess Nico really taught you how to throw a punch, huh, Lily?"

Lifting her eyes from Jessie's guitar, which was occupying her otherwise empty bed, Lily stared at Will, feeling the blood draining from her cheeks and wishing it hadn't. She fought the urge to squirm as Chase's muscled arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her so close to him that she was practically in his lap.

"Who's Nico?" Chase asked, glaring at Will and keeping Lily in a vise-like hold. "She's my –"

The door banged open and Jessie came in, shouting hellos over the general din. "Lily! Come here, will you?"

"Coming," Lily called, wriggling from Chase's arms and navigating the obstacle course known as the floor of the Apollo cabin on her way to the door. "Do you people never pick up your stuff?" she asked Jessie in exasperation as she nearly tripped over a keyboard lying on its side. "You're gonna kill someone one day."

"We do, but rarely," Jessie smiled. "Go to the creek in the woods, will you? There's someone waiting to talk to you."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Who?"

Giggling, Jessie leaned closer so that she could whisper, "Let's just say that if Chase knew, he would be very jealous. But don't worry – Chiron is using his super-fast-centaur moving powers to go and pick Isabelle up from Germany because her mom is much better and she really wants to come back here, and they should be back pretty soon. She and I can keep Chase occupied with absolutely no trouble, kay? So get going! But you may want to change your clothes first."

Staring at her dark flare jeans and black v-necked shirt, Lily shot Jessie a quizzical look. "Why? Is it someone important?"

"Never mind, I guess you look hot enough in that v-neck. Get going! And I think you know who it is now," Jessie winked.

"Yeah, and now I don't really want to go," Lily said, staring at Jessie's grey Converse.

"You will regret it – in multiple ways. He said he has something important to tell you," Jessie grinned cheekily.

"Shut up," Lily blushed, slapping her friend's shoulder.

"Just go already, please?" Jessie put on her best puppy-dog expression. "And it is actually important, because he told Leo, who's going to tell me. We're going to Fireworks Beach. I think your…he wanted somewhere more secluded for you two. But anyway, get going – I need to too. I'm late for Leo already," she laughed, checking her wristwatch.

"Fine. See you!" Lily walked quickly out of the cabin, slowing her pace as she neared the woods. Why had he wanted to meet her somewhere no one would even think of actually looking for them? Grasping the hilt of her sword lightly in her fingers, she walked into the woods, keeping an eye out for any unfriendly creatures.

Movement between two trees before her made her pause, holding tightly to her sword and shivering slightly as the night breeze caused goosebumps to rise on her bare arms. "Gods," she breathed, watching a huge timber wolf slink between the trees. Just as she thought it was going to go by without noticing her, it turned its large yellow eyes in her direction and bared its teeth.

"Great," Lily muttered, looking around for the son of Hades she had come to meet. "Come on, Nico, you said you attract these things…get him to go away!"

Unwilling to hurt the wolf but feeling distinctly uneasy as it began to approach her, Lily drew her sword from the loop of leather binding it to her hips and let it hang by her side.

"Lily?" Nico appeared behind the wolf, striding towards it. Leaning down, he placed a hand on its flank and murmured something in Ancient Greek, and the wolf turned and walked away. "Sorry – I forgot he'd be around; he takes any excuse to come here. But he's harmless – don't worry about him."

"It's fine," Lily said, putting her sword away and staring and the grass being crushed beneath Nico's black and orange Converse. "What…?"

"You're gonna want to sit for this," Nico warned, dropping to the ground and leaning his back against a tree. He waited for her to follow suit before continuing. "Percy and Annabeth told you all the stories about our second Titan War, right?"

"Yeah," Lily said, "But Kronos can't come back, can he?"

Nico chuckled, and Lily felt a perceptible tightening in her chest as she watched him smile that rare smile that always left her captivated. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the breeze tousled his silky dark hair, making her wish more than anything she could slide her hands through it. But she couldn't, and she refused to give in to her attraction unless she was sure he felt the same for her.

"No, I sincerely hope not," Nico said, shifting his position slightly. "But he wasn't the only bad thing out there. What Annabeth is afraid of, and I think she's right, is that Typhon may wake again. Did Percy tell you about him?"

Lily was staring at the water gurgling by in the stream, too preoccupied by her racing thoughts to answer his question. She remembered the story Percy had told her about Typhon – how the gods had barely managed to contain him, and how, combined with Kronos' attack on Olympus –

Raising her head, Lily looked directly at Nico. "But they could handle him once all the gods united, right? The only reason he nearly destroyed the country was because Poseidon was trying to fight his own war. Together they should be fine."

Nico had raised an eyebrow when Lily referred to her father as 'Poseidon,' but he made no comment. Instead, he sighed, tapping his sword on the ground. "That's what I originally thought, and that's why I didn't immediately panic, but honestly, it's not going to be that simple – if he does wake up. The thing is, it took something as major as Kronos attacking with an entire army of monsters to wake the Olympians up and unite them – and even then, Father and Poseidon barely joined in time. And from what I've heard, they are not at all united right now. It's bad. I don't know what's going on, but from what I've heard, they can't stay around each other for long without splitting into groups and yelling at each other."

"How do you know?" Lily asked, hoping he was wrong – but if she'd learned anything about him, it was that he never lied.

"Ghosts," he said airily, waving his hand. "I have my own spies. And so does Father, though he really doesn't tell me much. And I found _this_" – he pulled something from his pocket – "on Fireworks Beach. And it shouldn't have been there."

He held his hand out, but Lily was sitting too far from him to see what it was in the dark. Berating herself mentally for being the one to approach him, and not waiting for him to come to her, Lily crawled forward until she was sitting right in front of him. Leaning forward, she gazed at the irregularly shaped chunk of dirt in his palm.

"What is this?"

"Dirt," he deadpanned, ducking when she threw a handful of grass at him. "Fine! It's dirt from Tartarus. Or rather, from right outside Tartarus. But it shouldn't be anywhere at camp. And I want to know who brought it here."

Lily stared at him, her eyes wide. "So is someone at camp…"

"Could be a god. They visit sometimes. But the point is that someone has been visiting Tartarus. And I don't think we have much time to figure out who – anyone with power can wake Typhon. If it's a god, we're doomed. And I'm pretty sure it is."

"We have to do something," Lily said, flicking her eyes back up to his. "We can't just –"

"We have to," he interrupted, "At least for now. I refuse to get into a battle without knowing who I'm fighting. It's stupid."

"I don't care! We need to stop them – mount watch on Tartarus or something! Can't you send a ghost to keep watch?"

"They hate it there – most of them are terrified of Tartarus. And keep your voice down," he hissed.

Lily opened her mouth again, but before a single sound could pass her lips, Nico pounced on her and knocked her back against the ground, his hand covering her mouth while the other held her shoulder down.

"I am telling you to be quiet," he breathed, "because we aren't alone here. There's a god who just arrived here – I can feel the aura. And whoever it is, I doubt he's friendly. He wouldn't be here this late if he was. So just stay quiet, okay?"

Although a part of her didn't mind being pinned to the ground by him, Lily nodded, and he let her up. Grasping her elbow, Nico pulled her to her feet. "Go to your cabin," he said in a low voice. "Go straight there – no detours."

Turning, Lily was walking away from him when his voice stopped her.

"Lily."

She turned her head slightly in his direction, indicating that she was listening, and hoping that he would say what she wanted him to so desperately – she could feel the pulse pounding in her wrist, in her neck.

"I'm so damn sorry."

**A/N: So what did you think? PLEEEEEEEEEASE REVIEW I LOVE YOU ALL. PRETTY PLEASE? Like last time? Thanks. Brownies now! :D**


	38. Chapter 37

**A/N: SO SO SO SORRY! Yeah, I know. I have no excuses. It's shameful how long it's taken me. But I tried! Really! Writer's block sucks. No motivation *sigh*. But thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and who messaged me! I appreciate it! And here is my latest offering, I know it's short, but please be kind! Thanks, happy reading, and hot chocolate for everyone! **

Chapter 37

She was perfectly still, only the tensing of her shoulder blades indicating that she had heard him. Feeling her pulse throb through her veins, Lily closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose, unsure what to say. Nico had fallen silent – there was no noise from behind her. Her pounding heart clouded her brain, but she was painfully aware of his silence.

Suddenly it occurred to her that he was expecting her to forgive him – and she turned around, intending to give him a piece of her mind, when she backed away with a little gasp. Nico was standing less than two inches away from her, his eyes narrowed and worried, and his hand extended to the place where her right shoulder had been moments ago, as if he had been about to touch her.

Lily felt him exhale as his eyes met hers, his breath brushing past her cheek lightly. "What do you –" She broke off as he clamped a strong hand over her mouth. Nico leaned in to whisper in her ear when he suddenly sprang away from her – backwards. Confused, Lily looked around and saw a tall shape materializing from the night.

"Hi Apollo," Nico said to the approaching form.

"Hey there, kiddo," a gorgeously handsome Apollo smiled at him. "And Lily, hi, how you kids doing? Never mind, I have no time." He frowned. "Well, close enough. Sit tight, and try to last the night!"

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, but the god simply vanished even before the question had left her mouth. She rounded on Nico instead. "What did he mean? 'Try to last the night?' Are we all going to get attacked or something?"

"Shouldn't," Nico murmured, staring at the ground. "I haven't felt anything strange in the Underworld, and usually I do – before attacks at least."

"Maybe he was warning you about something else," a voice snarled from behind them. Chase stalked out from the shadows, a sharp knife clutched in his right hand. "Hello, di Angelo," he hissed, tightening his grip on the blade. "I've been wanting to meet you for a while now."

"Fascinating," Nico said coolly, not even bothering to pull his sword out. He turned to Lily. "Go back to your cabin, I'll see you later."

"She isn't going anywhere," Chase snapped, grabbing Lily's arm and hauling her to his side. "Don't even think about touching her, di Angelo. I saw you jump her when you two were in the woods."

"He did not jump me," Lily snapped, trying to wriggle out of Chase's grip, "And _neither _of you is going to tell me what to do. I'll do what I want to, get it?"

"Either leave, or stay out of this," Chase ordered, pushing her off to one side and turning back to Nico. "You just don't get it, do you, di Angelo? She _chose _me over you. So just stay the hell away! None of us here want you, and we're better off without you. So just leave."

Raising an eyebrow, Nico gave Chase a bone-chilling smile that failed to reach his dark eyes and melted away into the darkness.

"Chase!" Lily shrieked after a short pause. "What the freaking hell did you think you were –"

"You're my girlfriend!" Chase exploded. "He had no right to try and make a move on you! And I have every right to be protect what's mine, okay? Even your brother thinks it's better me than di Angelo!"

"That's rich, coming from the guy who pretends to like me while nursing a secret crush on Hannah," Lily snapped, her hands on her hips. "And threatening the son of Hades with a knife is one of the stupidest ideas ever. You realize he could beat you in a fight with both hands tied behind his back and without using any of his powers, right?"

Chase literally hissed at her in anger. "So you're still running after him, huh? Have you forgotten how broken he left you? How I put you back together? And you're just going to leave me now?"

Staring at the ground, Lily closed her eyes and wished that Chase's words hadn't struck a chord within her. Despite the realization that she still cared deeply about Nico, she had to admit that Chase had been there for her when she'd been alone, and he had, in a sense, picked up the shards of her that Nico had left behind and placed them together.

"It's just hard," she whispered, so softly that Chase moved even closer to hear her. "We were together, and then he just…came back, and…I didn't know how to react."

Just as she drew in another shuddering breath, Chase took one more step forward, placing him so close to her that her lowered head was brushing against his chest. Lily looked up in surprise, stepping backwards only to find his arms wrapping around her, forbidding her from moving.

When she looked up again, it was to find his face millimeters away from her own, his eyes staring intently at her. "Chase!" She had wanted to reprimand him, but her voice was inexplicably high-pitched and breathy, causing him to smile instead.

"Lily," he breathed in response, either ignoring the agitation in her eyes or missing it completely. Moments later his mouth had found hers, but when she barely responded, he pulled away.

"What was it you said earlier about me liking Hannah?" he asked, his eyes twin pools of chocolate confusion.

"Oh, I just…you stare at her a lot, so I thought…" Lily trailed off as he began to laugh.

"No, it's not quite like that, although you aren't quite far off the mark." He shifted their positioning so she was wrapped tightly in his embrace. "We dated for three years, but it ended almost right before you arrived at camp. We've decided to move on, but like you said, it's hard to realize that the person you spent so much time caring about and you can't be together. Even if it is for the best."

Lily willed herself not to cry, burrowing into his chest for the comfort that he seemed willing and able to provide. And there, locked in his embrace, she made her decision, fully aware that it was the most selfish thing she could do. She would choose security and possible happiness over risks and the most complete happiness she had ever known.

But two pairs of angry eyes were watching them from the shadows. Jessie narrowed her midnight blue ones, which were currently reflecting the stars above, and turned to Isabelle. "Can you _believe_ that? Wait, pinch me. This is a nightmare, and I'm going to wake up – ahhh! Not that hard!" She cradled her arm to her body, inspecting the small red mark Isabelle's pinch had left.

"You did tell me to," Isabelle smiled, "So I did. And honestly, I can believe she did that. Use your head, and tell me you can't."

Jessie scoffed. "You're the Athena child. I follow my heart," she declared, sticking her nose in the air and striking a pose. Moments later she dissolved into giggles.

Isabelle stared. "Are you…okay? One minute you're furious, and now you're all…"

"Well," Jessie hiccupped between giggles, "I just remembered something Leo said earlier today after we…" She trailed off and blushed, and Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for stopping there, I know you two were kissing behind the forge, but I don't need details. And what are we going to do about Nico?"

"You tell me, sister of the renowned Wise Girl." Jessie flopped down at the base of a large oak tree, sneezing moments later.

"Wear something warmer than a tank top and jeans next time we're out here at midnight, okay? And honestly, I'm not sure." Isabelle sank down to the ground as well, snuggling into her Harvard sweatshirt and playing with Connor's sunglasses, which were currently perched atop her caramel hair. "I know Nico really likes her, but I don't think she has any idea how much he cares."

"Yeah, because the genius won't actually fight for her! Like I'm pretty sure Leo would set fire to any guy who tries to touch me, and Connor would definitely try to stick a sword in anyone who tries to make a move on you," Jessie said, grinning as Isabelle blushed. "But when Chase's holding Lily like there's no tomorrow, does Nico do anything? Idiot!" She punched the tree in frustration and yelped with pain as she scraped her knuckles.

"It's understandable, though, if he's still insecure about how she feels. I mean, if I didn't know better I don't know if I would know that she likes him – she's really good at hiding it. She looks miserable, yes, but that could be from any number of causes. And she's started to look happier recently, so he's probably wondering if she's over him."

"Well we need to do something," Jessie decided, standing up and brushing dirt and grass from her faded blue jeans. "How about we go find Leo and Connor? They'll have some ideas, probably. And I'm cold. Leo equals warmth. Let's go!"

Isabelle sighed and stood up gracefully, unbending her tall frame. "Yes, let's go, you besotted Juliet." Laughing as Jessie swung a halfhearted punch at her, Isabelle jogged off towards the forge, Jessie following close behind her.

They entered the forge quietly, making not even a sound as they crept through the doors. Leo and Connor were both inside, sitting on the floor facing each other beside a small, dying fire. The flames cast a warm light over their faces, making Leo's eyes sparkle and Connor's brown hair shimmer, and both Jessie and Isabelle took a moment to appreciate the sight before walking over.

Leo noticed them first, and his tired face broke into a smile as he stretched a hand out. "Hey, Jessie, Isabelle," he said, pulling her close as her hand found his. Moments later she was settled between his legs, leaning back against his chest while he wrapped his arms around her. Isabelle sat with Connor, letting him rest his head on her shoulder.

"Why do you guys look so tired?" Isabelle asked, pressing her lips to her boyfriend's hair as he yawned.

"We've been busy," Leo answered, burying his face in Jessie's neck, smiling as he felt her skin warm against him.

"Doing what?" Jessie asked, trying not to blush and to simultaneously avoid Isabelle's knowing smirk as Leo imitated Connor's position, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Preparing for a war the gods aren't telling us about," Connor groaned, sitting up straight and stretching. "Does the name Typhon ring a bell?"

Isabelle laughed, lacing her fingers through his. "You don't need to explain. Jessie and I were eavesdropping on Nico and Lily while he told her about it – I'm assuming you found out from him?"

"No, we listened in on Percy and Annabeth after Nico left," Leo said, looking surprised. "You two eavesdrop?"

"Mhm," Jessie said happily. "And he didn't even notice!" She shifted a little, trying to see Leo's face. "So what were you guys doing, exactly?"

**A/N: So REVIEW PLEEASE? I love reviews. And they motivate me to write more and faster. So please review! It makes my day! Just take a few seconds to drop one off. It means the world to me :D**

**So Tell me what you thought! And once again, you have my heartfelt apologies for not updating for so long. But I have not abandoned my story! REVIEW PLEASE! :D**


	39. Chapter 38

**A/N: Here is the next chapter! Please read, enjoy, and then review! Tell me what you think – I didn't get as many reviews for the last chapter as I was getting for the previous few, which made me sad. If you can please drop one off, it will make my stressful existence much happier! Thanks! **

Chapter 38

"Well," Leo said, looking extremely pleased with himself, "Connor and I were talking, and we decided we need to have a better idea of what's going on up on Olympus and what kind of game plan we're looking at right now. So I made a little automaton – really tiny, like a little ladybug – and outfitted it with a bunch of really high-tech cameras. Connor managed to get us a taxi to, uh, the Empire State, and we…"

"We took the elevator to the third floor and Leo stuck the little bug" – Connor snickered at his pun – "onto the wall, and the moment all the little kids taking a tour left, he kind of hot-wired the shaft. Okay, I don't know what he did," Connor admitted when Isabelle gave him an amused look, "but he did something to make sure the elevator wouldn't stop until it reached Olympus, and we sent the little bug up after we stepped out of it. We took the stairs down and took a taxi back and here we are."

"So did you find out anything?" Jessie asked, looking impressed.

"Yeah, I saved the feed from the tapes as it came in," Leo said, standing up and brushing off his jeans. "But if you two want to watch it, I'll show it to you later – the video is in my room. But Connor and I can tell you what happened."

Isabelle raised a curved eyebrow. "So….what happened?"

"First nothing, we spent ages just staring at an empty throne room," Connor intoned morosely. "Even the most intricately carved pillars get boring after – ow!" Ducking as Isabelle attempted to slap him again, he grabbed her wrists to stop her. "I'll get to the point, okay! Sheesh." Shooting her an annoyed look, which was marred by his smile, he settled against her and sighed. "Basically, nobody is getting along much," he continued. "They seem to be splitting up – and some are already picking sides."

"Some of the gods are just refusing to believe that Typhon is the main threat out there," Leo said, absently braiding a strand of Jessie's red hair. "Zeus, unfortunately, is one of them. He says, and apparently this is true, that Tartarus does indeed stir every so often, but that since normally nothing bad happens, there isn't anything going to happen now. Athena, surprisingly, is siding with him – she says that anyway the gods are prepared to deal with anything that does occur, and that Tartarus stirs practically every single year and we're panicking for no reason. Apparently none of them know about the god sneaking down there that Nico saw, though."

"Another problem is that Zeus is getting paranoid about everyone else trying to overthrow him again," Connor continued, stroking Isabelle's arm lightly with a finger and smirking when she shivered. "He says that Poseidon's been sneaking down to the Underworld to discuss stuff with Hades, and he started ranting about how his own brother is plotting with the Lord of the Dead to try and overthrow him, or some crap like that. And then he went on about how it's obvious that Poseidon is a traitor because even his daughter is in love with a child of Hades, and his son is really good friends with the kid, and the room kind of erupted into noise at that point."

"It was kind of funny," Leo remembered, his impish smile appearing again on his face as his dark eyes sparkled with laughter. "Aphrodite started yelling across the room at Athena and I don't really know what happened, but she ended up losing her temper and everything in the room turned different shades of pink until she changed it back," he chuckled.

"She is so hot when she's angry," Connor sighed, a dreamy look in his brown eyes. He yelped moments later as Jessie hurled a screwdriver at his head. Thankfully it wasn't a particularly heavy one, because the daughter of Apollo had impeccable aim.

"Your girlfriend is right next to you, you moron," Jessie snapped. "You are not allowed to admire any woman except her. Ever."

Isabelle glared at Connor for a moment, the glare disappearing when he kissed her softly. "You're still the most beautiful girl I have ever seen," he whispered, "And the most intelligent one too." His eyes began to dance in the firelight as he leaned closer and added, "But you are insanely scary when you get mad, you know that, right? I'd prefer you turning everything pink than you running after me with your sword every time I say something I shouldn't, which I do quite a lot."

Giggling, Isabelle opened her mouth to respond when Jessie interrupted. "Much as I love to watch you to flirt," she said with a badly-concealed grin, "We have much more important things to deal with than your hormones. So what exactly is Olympus doing about this, besides turning everything pink?"

"There were doves too," Leo said very seriously, looking his girlfriend in the eyes. "Flying all around her head like some sort of crazy halo, and my _t__í__a _was there too. Creepy woman. Never liked her much."

"Leo, you didn't answer my question," Jessie groaned.

"Sorry," he muttered, not looking at all sorry. "But so right now it's like Poseidon versus Zeus, with random people choosing sides and some just staying out for now. And it's like not even based off of whom they agree with – although that is part of it – some of them are just going with whoever they like better."

"So Aphrodite is backing Poseidon because she thinks 'young love' is adorable and needs to be supported – she's currently furious with Zeus because he thinks Poseidon needs to keep his kids away from the children of Hades. Athena is with Zeus, Apollo is with Poseidon, Hades and Persephone weren't there, Hera is with her husband, Ares is with Zeus and Hephaestus wasn't paying half an iota of attention, and I don't remember the rest," Connor reeled off.

Isabelle frowned, a crease appearing between her eyebrows as she picked at a tiny loose thread on her sweatshirt. "So they aren't actually doing anything about this? No raising an army or making new weapons or something?"

"Not as far as we could tell," Leo muttered, looking annoyed. "And then my dad found my camera," he sulked.

"Yeah, that was hilarious," Connor laughed. "You two should have seen that – we'll have to show you," he said to Isabelle and Jessie. "Hephaestus like plucks the thing out of the air, stares into it for a minute, goes, 'Nice machine, Leo, but insects never make it into the throne room,' and crushes it."

"HE CRUSHED MY PROTOTYPE!" Leo yelled, flames sparking in his hair. Jessie shrieked and leaped away from him, making him laugh. "Sorry," he said, extinguishing the flames and eyeing her curiously. "Isn't your dad like the god of the sun and fire and whatnot? How come you're scared of fire?"

"I am not scared of fire, I'm scared of my boyfriend's head catching fire," she retorted. "A medical genius I may be, but I don't know what to do for the smell of singed hair."

"It doesn't smell," Leo said, reaching up to touch his curly hair. "It isn't even burned – look. I'm fireproof, remember?"

"Forgive me for panicking," Jessie sighed, letting him pull her close. "Couldn't help it."

"And you lecture me for flirting with Connor," Isabelle said with amazement. "You have some nerve, Jessie."

"Sorry," Jessie grinned. The smile faded off her face as she stared into the flames, deriving comfort from their crackling sound. "So what are we going to do?"

"We are going to have to fight their war for them," Connor said, the sleepiness vanishing from his eyes. "So we were thinking that since we don't know who or what else is going to be roaming around, we should post teams around the country to kind of keep track of who or what is where."

"And we need to ramp up camp security, convince Chiron of what's going on, and make sure everyone knows what they're doing, because I'm pretty sure that even though we had some sort of crash course in fighting, most people still aren't very good at it." Isabelle had her eyes closed, her head supported by Connor's muscled shoulder as she tried to think of what else to do. "We have to talk to Annabeth and Percy, find Nico, get Lily and…okay, we need to tell the whole camp. We have to find the Hunters and get them involved too, the Ares cabin…"

"Um, Isabelle?" Jessie interrupted. "If their parents aren't doing anything, do you really think that anybody here is going to feel motivated? I mean, if the gods themselves aren't worried, are any demigods going to believe us when we say that there's something happening? Because our evidence of it is coming from Nico, and the moment they hear that, people are going to refuse to acknowledge the truth of the statement, just because he's involved."

"That's kind of true," Isabelle admitted after a short silence. "It's unfortunate, but somehow after the whole breakup with Lily, people have stopped really liking him. But what if…" she trailed off, her brown eyes narrowed with concentration.

"She's having a brainwave," Connor said in a stage whisper, fighting the urge to laugh.

"We need someone else to go back down with him," Isabelle announced a moment later. "If we can back up his claim with someone reliable, they will have to believe it."

"You are brilliant!" Jessie squealed. "And I know just who to send with him!"

"Lily?" Isabelle frowned as Jessie nodded excitedly. "I would love for that to work out, Jessie, but I don't think she's going to agree to go. Especially not after she's made the decision to stick it out with Chase."

"If she doesn't want to, I'll go," Leo said. "I've always wanted to check out the Underworld – maybe see some cool fire stuff to imitate or whatever."

"Lily's going, and that's final," Jessie snapped, sounding remarkably childish. She seemed to realize this a moment later, and blushed. "It's just, I want them to get back together, and…"

"And you think the Underworld is a good environment for romance?" Connor asked skeptically. "Somehow I don't see any guy taking a girl down to the Underworld so he can ask her out. Wouldn't any member of the female species want pink, and flowers, and –"

"Stop sounding so sexist," Isabelle ordered, glaring at him.

"And the Underworld is actually a good idea," Jessie said smugly. "I was just thinking about it, and the fear factor makes us members of the female species somewhat clingy. Maybe she'll see a few ghosts, feel scared, and wind up sticking as close to him as she can."

Isabelle shot Jessie a disgusted look. "This is Lily we're talking about. Daughter of Poseidon, remember? I don't think she'll be clingy – if she does get scared, she'll probably demand that he bring her back here. Which won't help us much."

"Well, I don't hear you having any ideas," Jessie retorted, her face falling slightly as she realized that Isabelle was probably right.

The other girl sighed, massaging her temples gently as she thought. "Maybe...let's just send them down there and see what happens. If they are still attracted to each other, which I think they are, that will manifest itself somehow, and they will realize that they still like each other. Sounds okay?"

"Sure!" Jessie exclaimed, bouncing up onto her feet before Isabelle had even completed her sentence. "Let's go tell Nico first! Come on!"

**A/N: PLEEEEEEEEEEASE REVIEW! I AM WAITING LIKE A NUTCASE AT MY LAPTOP FOR ANY COMMENTS YOU CAN SEND MY WAY! Over and out. **

**Cockapoo xxx**


	40. Chapter 39

**A/N: Guess what? I got SO MANY REVIEWS for the last chapter! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH EVERYBODY! I was all excited and everything! Apparently a lot more people read this story than I thought – it's a wonderful thought. My world went warm and fuzzy until I remembered a four-chapter history test I had today. But enough of that. After spending a bunch of time being ecstatic over reviews, I decided that I should take your words to heart and update. So I typed out another chapter! Enjoy! And if you review, I'll try to update as quickly again ;)**

Chapter 39

Lily was staring at her face in the mirror, wondering what on earth was wrong with her. Something was looking wrong with her face, but she couldn't place the problem. Scrunching up her eyes, she leaned closer to the smooth glass and pulled her hair back from her face, tilting her head. That wasn't it either.

She stepped back, wiping away the droplets of water that trickled from her wet hair onto her face. Rubbing the mirror dry with her towel, she blinked through the haze of steam created by her shower and sighed. Resigning herself to the fact that she was going to look strange without understanding exactly why, Lily rubbed her hair with the towel and stepped out of the bathroom, reentering Cabin Three.

"Hi Percy," she called out as she navigated through the obstacle course known as the floor near Percy's bunk. Wrinkling her nose as she nearly tripped over a pair of his jogging shorts, she sat down in one of the armchairs near the fire and continued to rub her damp hair with the towel.

"What's up?" he asked, looking up from the floor next to her. He had a map rolled out over the floor, although it didn't appear to be the map of the camp.

"Is that a map of the United States?" Lily asked, leaning forward to take a better look. Unfortunately, she hadn't anchored herself properly in the chair and would up tumbling ungracefully to the floor.

"Hey, your hair just sprayed water on my map!" Percy yanked the paper away from her before looking back at her. "Oh, are you okay?"

"Now he asks," Lily grumbled, straightening her t-shirt – well, Percy's shirt, which she had borrowed, since she'd lost her own Camp Half-Blood shirt – over her dark skinny jeans. "I'm fine. What's the map for?"

"Annabeth and I were summoned to a meeting last night with Jessie, Isabelle, and their boyfriends," Percy said, uncapping a pen. "Before you ask, you weren't invited only because you were asleep when they came to find me and none of us had the heart to wake you. But basically the gods aren't going to do much about the Underworld threat since Tartarus apparently stirs every so often anyway, and so Leo and Connor and everyone wants to do something anyway."

"Let me guess. We're all going to sneak out of camp, aren't we?"

Smiling fondly at her, Percy patted his little sister on the head. "Damn right, as Nico would say," he chuckled, not noticing the way her jaw tightened when he mentioned the other boy's name. "We're going to spread out around the country in small groups to keep an eye on things – and some of us are going to stay back here. I have been put in charge of splitting us up into initial groups, which Annabeth will then review and reassign as necessary."

"So what have you done so far?"

"Nothing," he sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "I can't even decide who to put together besides me and Annabeth. And from there, I don't know where to send them. I think we should stick everyone in LA, San Francisco, and New York and be done with it."

"Well if you and Annabeth are going to be together," Lily mused, "Then Isabelle should be with Connor and Jessie with Leo, right?"

"They will get distracted," Percy said absently.

"So will you!"

"Annabeth and I can work together," he argued. "It isn't the same with us. We have faced so many life and death situations and gotten each other out of them that I know we'll be fine no matter what. But these people…I don't know. Maybe they'll just distract each other and wind up getting hurt, you know?"

Stealing the pen from his hand quickly, Lily grinned impishly at her brother, tapping the pen against her chin. "Put them together. They'll work well together and I know they would like to have some time together."

"Fine," he sighed, "But if Annabeth complains, you deal with her. I had nothing to do with this."

"Okay. Where are we putting everyone? Any ideas?"

"I was thinking either Annabeth and I should take one of the islands near San Francisco," Percy said, leaning over the map to look at the California side, which was near Lily.

"Angel Island," Lily decided, writing their names in neat cursive over the island and circling them. "I like the name. Just…stay focused, okay?" She giggled as he turned red and muttered something incomprehensible. "How about Leo and Jessie?"

"Mount St. Helens," Percy said promptly.

"What?"

"Over here," he said, taking the pen from her and scrawling their names over it. He returned the pen to her so she could circle their names too. "Last time Typhon woke, he was here, and the Telekhines had taken over Hephaestus's abandoned forge. I want to make sure that it's secure – and since Leo's a fire guy anyway, we may as well send them here."

"A volcano, though?" Lily sighed. "I'll have to tell Jessie to take her guitar with her. She's going to be bored to death."

Percy wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Bored…with her boyfriend around? I doubt it."

Lily giggled. "Okay, fine. Then...Isabelle and Connor?"

"New York," he said. "Connor knows his way around pretty well, and I think all the big action is going to happen on the West Coast and in this city. In between we can't control too much, and…yeah. I just feel like they should be in New York."

"Wait a minute," Lily said slowly, her pen poised over New York. "What about Los Angeles?"

Percy coughed, making her stare at him suspiciously. He gave her his best innocent look. "What about it?"

Narrowing her eyes, Lily shifted so that she was directly facing him. "You know what I mean. The Underworld is in LA! Why aren't you stationing anyone there?"

"We…we wanted to send Nico down there," Percy admitted, his green eyes fixed determinedly on his fraying shoelace. "But there's a problem."

"What?" Lily was, mercifully, in Percy's opinion, completely oblivious to where he was going to go with this. "There isn't any problem! He's _from _the Underworld, for Zeus's sake! And he's intelligent, he's a good fighter, he's powerful –" Catching herself before she began listing all his good qualities, Lily focused her aquamarine gaze back onto Percy. "What's the problem?"

"No one will believe him if we only have his word that something's happening down there," Percy sighed. "And we're all already paired off, and no one else is close enough to Nico for either of them to be comfortable together. We need someone who knows his fighting style, his behavior, hell, we need someone who knows him."

"Percy…"

"_Please_, Lily. I know I told you to break it off with him, because I really think that being with Chase, like you are now, will be a lot easier for you. Less to worry about, you know? But we need you go to with him to the Underworld. You two know each other well, you can fight together without having to worry about tripping over each other's feet or having clashing combat styles, and you understand each other."

"We broke up!" she hissed. "Do you remember that?" She stood up, tossing her still-drying hair over her shoulder, the tendons in her neck standing out and reminding him of how Nico's did the same whenever he was upset. "I can't believe you had the nerve to ask that of me!"

"Lily, wait!" Percy scrambled to his feet, but she had already sprinted out the door, and he decided against chasing after her. "Darn it."

Nico, meanwhile, was leaning lazily against the wall of his cabin, standing close to the green flames burning in the fireplace. His eyebrows were raised and his face carefully expressionless, and he waited until Jessie had sighed and walked out of the cabin, closing the door carefully behind herself, before he dared to slide down the wall, stretch his legs and rest his back against the obsidian behind him, and think.

Jessie had brazenly thumped on his door until he had opened in, breezed in like a little miniature hurricane, seated herself in one of his favorite chairs, and proceeded to lecture him about how he just _had _to go to the Underworld for a while to keep an eye on things, and how he had to take Lily with him so people would believe him, although she hadn't phrased it quite like that.

Running his hands through his dark hair, he sighed and dropped his head into his hands. He didn't think Lily would be willing to go anywhere with him – she was still uncomfortable with him, that much was obvious. He didn't blame her. He'd treated her terribly, but he couldn't help caring about her still. Although some other people insisted it was love, and he'd found himself pondering the idea more than once…

Nico groaned aloud, sitting up straighter and twisting around so that his back cracked in multiple places. He then proceeded to crack his neck and knuckles, enjoying the relief he felt as the tension in those areas was relieved. Remembering how Lily would wince whenever he did so, he allowed himself a small smile before he returned to contemplating his current situation.

He had to admit that he saw the logic in Jessie's plan, although he doubted that it was entirely hers. Probably Isabelle's – the daughter of Athena was as smart as Annabeth, scary as the notion was. But Lily would never agree. Never.

Standing and stretching, he walked over to his bed and pulled out his guitar, absently strumming a tune as he continued to think. He hadn't responded to Jessie, insisting on remaining stubbornly silent the entire time she was there. Leaning back against the pillow, he heard something rustle and sat back up, frowning and groping under the pillow. Resting his guitar against his chest, he unfolded the object he found and closed his eyes when he did. In his hands was another picture of him with Lily, one that he vaguely remembered Connor taking a while ago.

She was smiling at him in the picture, leaning over him while he pored over a map of the camp, looking frustrated. Her hands were sifting lightly through his hair and gods, that smile, he just found himself wishing he could wrap her in his embrace the moment he saw it.

But thinking like that, he knew, was no good to anyone, unless the other part of Jessie's lecture, where she had gone on and on about how Lily still had feelings for him and he needed to hurry up and show her he was still interested, was right. Which it probably was. Although he knew that Isabelle was far more intelligent than Jessie, Apollo's daughter had a tendency to be spot-on in the matters of the heart. He rolled his eyes at himself. Matters of the heart? Really? He was starting to sound like some lovesick girl out of those romance novels he had occasionally caught Lily borrowing from Jessie.

Tossing the picture back under his pillow, he plucked a few strings on the guitar, admiring the flames decorating its smooth black body. Weighing the situation in his mind, he was quickly approaching a conclusion, and that conclusion was to go with the flow and tell Jessie that he had agreed. She would be ecstatic, he knew, and she would also be able to convince Lily – no one else would be able to.

Standing up and tucking the guitar safely back in its case, Nico allowed himself a small smile. Hopefully Jessie would persuade her best friend to make the trip to the Underworld with him. All he needed was a chance to speak with her – an uninterrupted chance, rather. Hope, Nico decided at that moment, was a beautiful thing. Beautiful.

**A/N: Comments? Questions? Anything at all? Review please! Like I said, reviews inspire me to write and get things out way more quickly. Hint hint hint hint hint. :D**

**SO PLEEASE REVIEW! IT MAKES ME HAPPY! **


	41. Chapter 40

**A/N: NEXT CHAPTER! Yay! And…I have a little surprise for you all at the end of this chapter. Hopefully you'll be okay with it. Please read and review! I got so many last time – I am so wowed. THANK YOU EVERYONE! It means everything nice in this world to me to read all your sweet little comments. So please click the little blue review button at the end! **

Chapter 40

"Lily, quit being stubborn, okay? You can't keep saying no! Even Percy says you should go with him, so why won't you listen?" Jessie blew a strand of red hair from her face and resumed glaring at her best friend. "You know Percy would never force you to spend any time alone with Nico, but he understands that if you don't go, no one at camp will believe that we need to prepare ourselves for impending disaster and doom and gloom!"

"I will not go with him!" Rolling her eyes when Jessie shushed her, Lily lowered her voice slightly before continuing. "And you know why I don't want to – why are you making me? You can go with him! He's friends with you, he knows you and you know him. I'll go with Leo, okay?"

"Not okay. You are not going to spend an indefinite amount of time with my boyfriend while I'm stuck with yours, okay? Nico is hot, yes, but I like Leo better and am not about to give him up, okay?" Watching Lily closely, Jessie smirked to herself. She had seen her friend's face flush when she'd declared that Nico was hot. Apparently the attraction was very much still there.

"He isn't my boyfriend!" Lily snapped moments later. The joys of denial.

"Close enough," Jessie said dismissively, waving her hand in the air. "You guys are attracted to each other, you throw each other lovelorn looks when you think no one is looking, you sleep with a picture of him under your pillow at night and then hold hands with Chase during the day…come on. Maybe not everyone knows, but I do."

Feeling a violent blush taking over her face and neck, Lily sat down on the grass, leaning back against the pine tree on Half-Blood Hill. "What…"

"You left your bed unmade yesterday so I made it for you while you were showering," Jessie explained, "And I found the picture of you and Nico under your pillow." She sat down next to her friend. "Lily, please. I understand how difficult this is for you – I really do. But we can't do this without you, and you have to realize that we're looking at lots of pain and death if we are unprepared for Typhon's coming. And we don't even know who or what may be coming with him!"

Lily leaned back, feeling the tree's rough bark digging into her back and enjoying the feel of the afternoon sunshine on her face. "Fine. But –"

"Yes!" Jessie squealed, throwing her arms around Lily. "Thank you!" She released her then, looking worried. "But…?"

"How long is this going to be for?"

"No clue, but don't worry. He's too sweet a guy to hurt you, scare you, or take advantage of you in any way, okay?" Waiting until Lily had nodded in understanding, Jessie bounced up onto her feet and tossed a bright smile at her friend. "Let's go tell Isabelle! I would say Annabeth too, but she was going to go over the plans for everything with Percy and see if we should talk to Clarisse and Will and some other people, although I doubt they're getting anything done."

Lily laughed, although she was churning with worry on the inside. How was she supposed to stop herself from kissing Nico senseless if they were going to be spending a long time alone together? And the dark. She was terrified of the dark! Probably because Poseidon's children had an inborn fear of flying and the dark. Domains of the unfriendly gods. Great.

"Are you listening to me?" Jessie asked suddenly, staring at Lily.

"Huh?"

"That answered my question," Jessie said dryly. "Isabelle! Come here! She said yes!"

Isabelle jogged over from the Athena cabin, putting the finishing touches on the intricate French braid her hair was tied in. "Hi Jessie! Lily – hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?" Lily asked, her eyebrows moving towards each other in confusion.

"You look…different, somehow," Isabelle said, her eyes searching Lily's face.

Lily quailed, remembering how earlier she had looked in the mirror and thought something was amiss. Maybe Isabelle would pick up on what she hadn't…

"Lily, have you slept at all the past couple days?" Jessie asked suddenly. "Isabelle, look – she's got those circles under her eyes that I swear weren't there before."

"Yeah, you're right." Looking around, Isabelle grabbed her friends' hands and pulled them under the convenient shade of a tree, away from others' ears. "Okay, Lily, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Lily hedged, realizing that the darkening rings around her eyes were what she had noticed earlier that morning. Now she had to divert their attention from her lack of sleep – and reason for it. Which, she knew, was a battle lost before it was begun.

"It's because you've been thinking about Nico and Chase, right?" Jessie guessed – accurately, as usual.

"How the heck did you know that?" Isabelle demanded, watching as Lily blushed and then turned pale. "I can never guess these things."

"No, but you can tell me exactly what angle I need my bow to be at with my shoulder to shoot a certain target," Jessie smiled. "You're too intelligent for romance, Izzy."

"Izzy?" Isabelle raised her eyebrows. "No thanks. And Lily, have you been having nightmares? You have to tell us if you have! They aren't regular dreams, you know that. We need to know what you've been seeing."

Her heart pounding as the memories of her dreams in the past couple nights filled her mind, Lily closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, drinking in the warm afternoon air. "I've been…dreaming about Nico," she admitted, her cheeks coloring as she took in her friends' expressions. "No – not like that! Jeez, you guys! It's…not funny at all, actually," she sighed. "I see him lying on the ground and he's staring at me, and I always get the feeling that it's my fault. He's bleeding, he's hurt, he's got his sword in his hand and he's trying to get up but he can't, and every time I have the dream I can't move! I can't help him! I don't know what to do! I don't want to go with him because what if this is going to happen in the Underworld! And I don't know what'll happen with me and Chase if I go off with Nico…I don't know if I can handle myself around him, if I can take care of him. What if he dies?" Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, turning them red.

"You'll be fine," Jessie said, hugging Lily briefly but tightly.

Isabelle, on the other hand, looked worried. "You know, Lily, as much as I'm worried because you're a demigod having these dreams, I don't know if it's anything to actually do with what may end up happening. I think you're having this because your subconscious is so stressed out about him – you've probably been spending a lot of time worrying about him lately, right?" When Lily nodded mutely, Isabelle continued, "Your subconscious is probably projecting your worry about him in your dreams. Look, this is going to sound insane, but you have to talk it out with him. Whatever is bothering you, you have to figure it out. I was with Annabeth and Percy and they want to leave tonight."

"What?" Jessie shrieked loudly, blushing as Isabelle hissed at her.

"Yes, tonight. Probably around 2 or 3 in the morning, but still. So Lily, whatever it is, you and Nico need to sort yourselves out by tonight, do you hear me? I'm supposed to tell you two that you and your partners need to go to Zeus's Fist by midnight. Percy said he'll get Connor to make sure we have everything we need."

"I agree with that," Jessie said, still looking shocked about the rapidity with which their departure was approaching. "So, Lily, his cabin is right there. You are going to go in and talk to him, okay?"

"No! Can you imagine…I don't even know what to say! I'm dating Chase, I can't just –"

"Stop lying to yourself," Jessie snapped. "Look, I know he hurt you, but he was just trying to save you from the unhappiness he thought a relationship with him would bring you. How dare you punish him – and yourself – because he loves you enough to leave you? Don't blush like you don't know. He loves you, it's in his eyes every time someone says your name. So get in there and talk to him before Isabelle and I knock you out and leave you on his doorstep. Go. Now. If you want to talk afterwards, you can find us in the forge, okay?"

Lily opened her mouth to protest but sighed when Jessie narrowed her beautiful dark-blue eyes and pointed towards Nico's cabin. "Fine, but if he kicks me out, don't blame me. And I can't believe I'm doing this! I can't do this. No. No way." Turning around, she attempted to escape in the direction of the woods, but her friends grabbed her.

"You will regret not talking to him," Isabelle said softly. "And you guys are going to be spending a lot of time together – go. Please."

Feeling her heart fluttering like a caged bird in her chest, Lily walked towards Cabin Thirteen, trying not to feel like she was approaching her doom. She found herself facing the obsidian door all too soon, and swallowed quickly before pushing the door open, slipping in, and closing it behind her.

The green flames in the fireplace illuminated the room, but what first caught her attention was the music. Nico was sitting on his bed, his back to her, playing a slow, sweet tune on the guitar. Lily caught her breath as she recognized the song – Hero, by Enrique Iglesias. He had hated the song, but he'd reluctantly learned to play it when she'd told him it was one of her favorite songs. Hearing him plucking it out on his guitar now, when she wasn't even there to ask him to, brought tears to her eyes.

Dashing the tears away with her hand, Lily took in a shallow breath and took a few steps forward. "Nico?" she said softly.

He stiffened immediately, his hands freezing on the guitar. She saw his neck tense and his shoulders straighten almost imperceptibly, and a moment later he was on his feet, the guitar dropped gently onto the bed. Emotions flitted across his face – surprise, followed by a hint of a smile – but suddenly the shutters behind his eyes clamped down, refusing her access to his thoughts. "Is something wrong?"

Gods, he had no idea what even his voice could do to her. Lily felt like she was drowning in his beautiful dark eyes, and the sound of his deep, familiar voice made her feel like he had reached into her chest and was strumming her heartstrings like his guitar. She felt the blood seeping from her neck to her cheeks but was unable to tear her eyes from his, powerless to hide her blush from him. His eyes flickered, and she knew he had noticed.

"Can we…talk?"

His face hardened for a moment, and then it smoothed out again, and he nodded. "Sit," he said, motioning to the bed, while he walked to the nearby wall and leaned up against it.

Lily seated herself, looking away from his body but finding herself unable to erase from her mind the way he had lounged against the wall, his lean but muscled limbs resting lightly against the obsidian and his hair crowning his head softly. Why was he so damn attractive?

"We're leaving tonight," she blurted suddenly, looking up at him. "We have to be at Zeus's Fist by midnight so we can go. Percy and Annabeth have arranged everything, I think. I don't know…I don't think you know, but I – I'm coming with you."

Nico kept his face carefully expressionless, and Lily found herself disappointed with his lack of reaction. After waiting vainly for him to respond, she stood up quickly. "I'll just go, then," she said softly, moving towards the door. But before she'd taken even three steps, his strong hand caught her upper arm, pulling her towards him slightly.

"Why?" he asked, and she heard a faint note of desperation in his voice. "You don't have to – if they forced you, I'm okay if you don't want to. You –"

"I understood their reasoning," she said to his chest, finding herself incapable of meeting his dark eyes. Darn it, even his collarbone looked good. And his skin…

"Are you sure, though? We don't know how long we may have to spend there, and if you aren't comfortable then I really don't want to force you. It's not exactly safe down there –"

"I'll be with you," she whispered, not sure where the words were coming from but unable to stop herself from speaking. She was finally looking through her lashes at him, and the intensity of his gaze sent tingles down her spine. "I'll be safe. I know that much."

For a moment he froze, and then suddenly he bent down towards her. Before she had realized what was happening, his strong arm was around her waist, the other behind her neck, and he was bending her backwards slightly, supporting her. And he was kissing her.

The fireworks which had been missing for so long in her life exploded behind her closed eyelids, and a sigh of contentment escaped her as she relaxed into his soft kiss. They felt perfect together, Lily realized, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down and angling her own. She'd missed him more than she had cared to admit to herself, and now this was reminding her of just what she had been missing.

He was rubbing her back now, gradually adding more passion to the kiss, and she responded with equal enthusiasm. They were locked together, bodies flush against each other, and suddenly Lily felt herself pressed up against the wall. Overwhelmed by a sudden need for air, Lily broke the kiss, gasping for breath.

She tried to regain her breath, her eyes closed, but suddenly a mewling sound escaped her lips as she felt his mouth on her neck. Gripping his sturdy but skinny shoulders as if her life depended on it, she threw her head back, enjoying the feel of her hair against her neck, and gave him better access to work his magic. And he worked it well, kissing against the sweet spot where her neck and shoulder met. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice whispered that Connor would find the mark that Nico was going to leave on her and demand explanations, but she rudely shushed it. And then all thought abandoned her as he returned his lips to hers, sweeping her off her feet in a wave of emotion.

After what seemed like ages, they broke apart, but remained wrapped in a tight embrace, her head resting on his chest. Listening to his heartbeat, Lily felt herself smile. She just felt so safe and loved in his arms – even if he hadn't confessed the sentiment to her yet – but suddenly the voice of reason, which she had ignored earlier, wormed its way back into her mind, and she pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Nico asked huskily, his voice sending her even deeper into confusion. She knew she had serious feelings for him – maybe even the inklings of love – but they couldn't be together. And they couldn't be making out – she was dating someone else, for Zeus's sake!

"I…we can't do this, Nico! I'm dating Chase still, I can't just be in here kissing you, I shouldn't have done this, I should –"

"Don't tell me you didn't mean it," he growled, his eyes flashing at her. "I know you enjoyed every moment of that. Or did you just come in here to play with me and then toss me away again?"

"No, I – I did love that, don't get me wrong, but Nico, I can't kiss you when I'm with someone else! It's just wrong, I can't do that." Lily backed away towards the door, hating the pain in his eyes and hating herself for having caused it.

"Break it off with him, then," he hissed angrily. "I know you don't like him – why are you even with him?"

"Because he was there when you left me!" A tear rolled down her smooth cheek and she brushed it away, her voice shaking. "I don't know how you feel now, I don't know if you really care and want to be with me or if this is temporary again, if you'll walk away from me in a week or two. And I don't know if I can deal with that again," she confessed, now looking anywhere but at him, the tears coming in earnest. "Until I know," Lily whispered, "I won't be able to be with you. I won't be able to hold myself together if you leave me again. I'll see you at midnight at Zeus's Fist."

Before he could say a word she had fled, leaving only his bleeding heart to remind him that she had been there. It hurt, Nico acknowledged, punching the wall hard and deriving a twisted pleasure from the blood running down his hand, it hurt to know she loved him as much as he loved her, but that he had ruined her ability to trust him. He would do everything he could to restore it, especially because they now had so much uninterrupted time together.

But still, it hurt to know that the one person you loved, and who loved you just as much, was the one person who was terrified to trust you. They were together, he realized, but more apart than they could ever be.

"I will fix this," he whispered, staring at the liquid redness on his hand and the wall. "I can't live without you."

**The End **

**A/N: Yes, you read that right. I am ending Ocean Eyes here. SO PLEEEASE REVIEW! I want to end this on a nice note with lots of reviews! And yes, there is a sequel coming. So please wait, I should have it up soon! Thank you so much for sticking with me throughout my first story, it's been a great experience and I can't wait for the sequel to get started. I hope all of you will keep reading and reviewing – you guys are the best audience I could ever ask for :D **

**Please drop me a review! :D**


	42. SEQUEL!

Hi everyone! Sequel is up – please read! It's called Midnight Eyes, and I would love it if all of you could go check it out. Thanks for reading my stories – and a special thank you to all my reviewers. I would have given up long ago if it hadn't been for you all :D


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